
I 



A^y>^ i ' 
" • 

OFFICIAL HISTORY 



OF 



THE DISCUSSION BETWEEN 



Venezuela and Great Britain 

II 



ON 



^ Their Guiana Boundaries. 



The Franklin Printing and Publishing Company 
Atlanta, Ga., 1896. 



BY TRANSFER 
BU. AM.'R«PX/B. 

MAY 9 1905. 




INTRODUCTION. 



Holland cedes to Great Britaiji the Colonies of Demetara, Esse- 
qidbo ajid Berbice. Co?ivefition between H. B. M. a?id the 
United Provinces of the Netherlaiids, relating to their colonies, 
signed hi London o?i the ijth of August, 1814. 



ARTICLE 1. 

His Britannic Majesty engages to restore to the Prince Sov- 
ereign of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, within the 
time which shall be specified here below, the colonies, fac- 
tories and establishments of which Holland was in possession 
at the beginning of the late war, that is to say, on the ist of 
January, 1803, in the seas and continents of America, Africa 
and Asia, with the exception of the Cape of Good HopX and 
of the establishments of Demerara, Essequibo and BeriDice, 
which the High Contracting Parties reserve the right to dis- 
pose of by a supplementary convention which shall be adjusted 
at once in conformity with the mutual interests of both parties, 
and more especially in relation to the stipulations contained in 
articles 6 and 9 of the treaty of peace concluded between His 
Britannic Majesty and His Most Christian Majesty on the 30th 
of May, 1 8 14. 



First Additional Article. 



3. To defray, jointly with Holland, and in equal parts, all 
the ulterior expenses which may be determined and agreed 
upon by common consent by the High Contracting Parties and 
their allies, with the object of consolidating and definitely 
establishing, in a satisfactory manner, the union of the Nether- 
lands and Holland under the rule of the House of Orange, the 
quota to be furnished by Great Britain not to exceed three 
million pounds sterling. 



IV 



In consideration of the engagements above mentioned, the 
Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands consents to cede in all 
sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty the Cape of Good Hope 
and the establishments of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice, 
on condition, however, that the subjects of H. R. M., the 
Prince Sovereign, who own property in said colonies or estab- 
lishments, shall be at liberty (saving the regulations which shall 
be agreed upon in a supplementary convention) to navigate and 
trade between said establishments and the territories of said 
Prince Sovereign in Europe. 



Done in London on the 13th of August, 18 14. 

(K. S.) Castlereagh. 
(L. S.) H. Fagel. 



THE ^^SCHOMBURGK LINE/^ 



At the present moment, when Schomburgk's boundary line 
is being virulently discussed, it will be interesting to read the 
following communication, from a Parliamentary Paper dated 
May nth, 1840, as it gives the real object of the traveler's 
work : 

Foreign Office, 18 March, 1840. 

Sir : — I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 6th instant, enclosing copies and extracts of despatches and their en- 
closures from Mr. Light, Governor of British Guiana, relative to the expediency of 
an arrangement being made with the Brazilian, Venezuelan and Netherland gov- 
ernments, by which the boundaries of British Guiana may be accurately defined. 

With reference to that part of your letter in which you state that Lord John Rus- 
sell considers it to be important that the boundaries of British Guiana should be 
ascertained and agreed upon, if possible, and that Mr. Schomburgk's researches in 
those parts have qualified him in a peculiar manner to be of use, should the ser- 
vices of any person acquainted with the geography of British Guiana be required 
for fixing the boundaries of the British territory, I am to state to you, that the course 
of proceeding which Lord Palmerston would suggest for the consideration of Lord 
John Russell is, that a map of British Guiana should be made out according to the 
boundaries described by Mr. Schomburgk ; that the said map should be accom- 
panied by a memoir, describing in detail the natural features which define and con- 
stitute the boundaries in question ; and that copies of 'that map and memoir should 
be delivered to the governments of Venezuela, of Brazil, and of the Netherlands, 
as a statement of the British claim. That in the meanwhile British commissioners 
should be sent to erect landmarks on the ground, in order to mark out by perma- 
nent erections the line of boundary so claimed by Great Britain. It would then 
rest with each of the three governments above mentioned to mdke any objection 
which they might have to bring forward against these boundaries, and to state the 
reasons upon which such objections might be founded, and Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment would then give such answers thereto as might appear proper and just. 

Lord Palmerston further considers, that it would be expedient that the Brazilian 
detachment should be required to withdraw from Pirara, and that the officer in 
Command should be informed, that any claim which Brazil may imagine itself to 
have to that village should be stated by the Brazilian government to that of Great 
Britain, in order that it maybe discussed and settled between the two governments. 

I have, &c., 

James Stephen, Esq. LevesoN. 

[The above is taken from "The Argossy," vol. 30, No. 758, October 12, 1895, of the City of 
Georgetown, Deraerara.] 



OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 



PART I. 

Paragraphs from the i?istructio?is given by the Secretary of Foreign 
Affairs of ancieiit Colombia to her Minister Ple?iipote7itiary in 
Lo?ido?i, Sefior y» Rafael Rev enga (A. D. 1822). 

[Translation.] 

. . Allow me, nevertheless, to call your special atten- 
tion to article 2 of the draft of the treaty on limits. The 
English are now in possession of Dutch Guiana, being therefore 
our neighbors on that side. Therefore you must agree as ex- 
actly as possible upon the dividing line between one and the 
other territory, in accordance with the latest treaties between 
Spain and Holland. The colonists of Demerara and Berbice 
have usurped a large tract of land that, according to said treaties, 
belongs to us on the side of the Essequibo river. It is absolutely 
necessary that sa^id colonists either place themselves under the 
protection of and submission to our laws, or else retire to th^^r 
former possessions. To this end they should be granted the 
necessary time according to the provisions in the draft for the 
treaty.^ 



1 Sefior Revenga had no occasion to use this part of his instructions, since 
he had no opportunity to discuss the question of boundary during his mission 
to London. 



2 



PART II. 

Hon. Robert Kcr Porter, British Mimster i?i Caracas, to the Ve?ie- 
zuelaiL Minister of Foreigji Affairs. 

British Legation, 
Caracas, May 26, 1836. 

Sir ; — From a recent correspondence I have held with His 
Majesty's Consul in Angostura. I have to request the serious 
attention of the Executive to a Representation I am about to 
make, relative to the more safe navigation for vessels on enter- 
ing the Principal mouth of the Orinoco, situated to the South 
West of the Island of Trinidad. Being particularly induced to 
address the Government on this subject, in consequence of the 
very imminent dangers vessels are exposed to, not only for 
want of proper land and water marks to guide them, but likewise 
on account of the inefficient state of the Pilot Establishment on 
the Island of Pagayos, a considerable distance up the river. 

In proof of the results, from what I have just mentioned, 
allow me to state that on the 7th of January last the British 
Brig "Coriolanus," coming from St. Thomas to Angostura, ran 
on shore a little to the leeward of the Grand Mouth of the Ori- 
noco ; and totally for want of a Beacon to point out the 'proper 
entrance. Every effort was made on the part of the Master 
and crew, assisted by some Indians, to get her off, but without 
success. She soon bilged and became a wreck. On the 29th 
she was totally abandoned, and on the 6th of February, the Cap- 
tain and crew reached Angostura ; when he duly reported his 
misfortune, and cause ^/ 2/, to the British Consul in that city. 

A second circumstance of the like nature (from similar causes) 
took place but a very few weeks afterwards — namely — The 
British vessel * 'The Sir Walter Scott" bound outwards, with 
a cargo of cattle for use of the troops in the English col- 
onies, ran aground (and for want of a Pilot) in crossing from 
the point of Crab Island to Cape Barima, where she remained 



3 



in the greatest distress during three days. The Consul in re- 
porting this circumstance to me, adds: Here is an additional 
"instance of ruinous tendency, arising out of the present imbe- 
^'cile Pilot System of the Orinoco, and although the misfor- 
^'tune was known at the Station of the Pilots in Pagayos, no 
^'assistance whatever was rendered. The vessel and cargo must 
•"have sustained considerable injury, the particulars of which I 
" have not yet had, as the Captain, the moment he got off, pro- 
" ceeded on his voyage." Let me here refer you, for the pres- 
ent, to the enclosed copy of a letter addressed to the Governor 
of the Province of Guiana by the Consul, in illustration of the 
great neglect, as also disobedience to the Pilot regulations. 

From what I have already said, it becomes my official duty 
to represent to the Executive of this Republic the indispensable 
necessity (and that without further delay) of placing a conspicu- 
ous Beacon on Cape Barima, the point forming the Grand 
Mouth of the Orinoco to the S. S. East, where I am given to 
understand it could be done with the greatest facility and to the 
greatest advantage. This object would effectually prove a sure 
mark, as also a safeguard to all vessels seeking for the proper 
entrance into this vast river ; and it becomes the more to be re- 
quired, from the great difficulty experienced by all navigators in 
finding the entrance, as the coast presents the same appearance 
for many leagues together, and at this day has not a single mark 
to denote it. The Island of Cangrejos forms the other side of the 
Great Mouth, situated at a distance of about eighty leagues from 
the Cape to the W. N. West, whose dangerous sand banks re- 
duce the only navigable channel to scarcely three miles in width, 
which commences on passing the Bar (just without Cape Bar- 
ima), soon becoming difficult and intricate, particularly so after 
ascending for about three leagues, where the channel frequently 
changes its course on account of the shifting sands. In fact it 
cannot be denied but that the whole navigation up to the Island 
Pagayos (eleven leagues from the Cape) is extremely dangerous 
and uncertain, requiring to be well surveyed and carefully 
sounded by some one thoroughly acquainted with that part of 
the Orinoco and its probable casualties. Buoys ought to be 
forthwith laid down at those particular poi^its, which either mark 



4 



the channel or sheic luhere sand batiks or sunken rocks lay, both 
being numerous, impeding the Navigation and increasing the 
dangers of the River to the great risk of lives and propert>^ 

The next subject of my representation regards the actual, and 
I may say almost useless, system of Orinoco Pilotage. I am 
well aware that a Pilot Boat was intended to have gone out every 
dav from Point Barima to cruise for vessels bearing towards the 
entrance of the river, but a shameful want of proper arrange- 
ment, attended by neglect, rendered abortive this wise and well 
intended plan on the part of the Department of Marine. And 
it does 7iot exist at this day. The only Pilot Station on the Ori- 
noco is at the Island of Pagayos, forty miles distant from the 
entrance at the Great Mouth of the river. And it appears very 
clear that great difficulties and perils must be encountered in 
reaching it. 

The amicable bearing at all times manifested by this Govern- 
ment in its Foreign Relations, not only political but commer- 
cial, assures me that it is vividly alive at all times to whatever 
may either augment that friendly feeling or increase the mercan- 
tile prosperity of the country. Under this firm belief, as well as 
from a sense of my duties in watching over that of my own coun- 
try, I therefore seize the present occasion in endeavoring to im- 
press on the Executive the imperious iiecessity of promptly taking 
stable and energetic measures in the regulation of tliat wJiich is of 
such vital importance to the groiving Trade of Angostura, whose 
increase or diminution cannot but ver}' materially affect that of 
the whole of the neighboring Provinces of the Repubhc, and 
consequently influence the public revenue. Allow me to add 
(as materially connected with the subject in question)^ being a 
well known fact that not only in England, but in many of her 
colonies, the merchants are afraid to speculate, or ev^en send 
their vessels to the Orinoco, in consequence of the dangers to 
which both property- and life are exposed, from the causes I 
have already set forth, thus corroborating what I have stated 
touching the total abandonment in which the navigation of the 
Orinoco at present is left. Indeed, so deep is the impression of 
risk on the British mercantile mind, that at the Lloyds, in Lon- 



5 



don, no Insurance can be effected to that river without a very con- 
siderable advance on the Premium^ and in many places not at all. 

His Majesty's Consul at Angostura (as the preceding enclo- 
sure would shew you) found it his indispensable duty to call 
the observance of the Governor of the Province of Guiana to 
the subject I now write you on, under the full hope that he 
might be able, by his authority and remonstrance, to check in 
future the pursuance, on the Orinoco, of a system truly preju- 
dicial to the interest of individuals, as well as to the general 
commerce. I have had the honor of just laying before you 
that gentleman's official note to the Governor, which, together 
with his answer, as also other documents connected with the 
present representation, were forwarded to me, mentioning at 
the same time, that such had been duly sent officially to his 
Government for its knowledge and guidance. These papers I 
cannot doubt, will further show the Executive how absolutely 
useless the Pilot Establishment is on the Island of Pagayos, 
being rather detrimental than advantageous to the intent and 
views of the Legislature ; hence, demanding a most radical 
reform in some way or other. 

Before I close this despatch I must once more repeat my 
solicitude, that the Minister of the Marine be directed to inves- 
tigate and correct the abuses which have frustrated the good intent 
of the Government and that Department, and likewise that he 
be directed to attend to the recommendation I now have the 
honor of making, by placing a proper Beacon on the Barima 
Cape, as also the appropriate Buoys in the Orinoco for the safer 
navigation of it, so that I may be enabled in a very short 
time (and I trust the urgency will be seen) to have the 
satisfaction of officially communicating to His Majesty's 
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (for the 
information of the Merchants interested at Lloyds), the 
measures that have been taken by this Government, rendering 
the great e?itra?ice to the Orinoco perfectly perceptible; as also the 
navigation of the river up to A?igostura perfectly safe. 

I have the honor to remain sir, etc., etc., 

(Signed) Robt. Ker Porter. 

The Honorable Seiior Jose R. Gallegos, etc., etc. 



6 



PART III. 

Extracts from the I?istmctio7is by the Ve?iezuela?t Government to Dr, 
Alcjo Fortiquc, its Minister at Lo?idon, Septeynber, 1841. 

[Translation.] 

Although Venezuela's rights in Guayana extended to the 
banks of the Essequibo, as you should show, this Government 
being anxious to remove all obstacles to a speedy adjustment, 
is not disposed to insist upon its rights to that extent, it being 
manifest that England will not agree to surrender her establish- 
ments on the Pumaron and Moroco rivers. You may, there- 
fore, direct the course of your negotiations accordingly, making 
gradual concessions until an agreement can be had on the fol- 
lowing line of boundary between Venezuela and British 
Guiana, viz. : The Moroco from its mouth to its headwaters in 
the Imataca mountains ; thence southward along the highest 
ridge of these mountains to Tupuro creek ; thence along the 
waters of said creek to the Cuyuni river ; thence along the 
northern side of the Cuyuni to its confluence with the Esse- 
quibo ; and thence southward along the left bank of the Esse- 
quibo to its confluence with the Rupuruni as a terminus. 



Dr. Fortiq?(e to Lord Aberdeen. 

[Translation.] 

The undersigned, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic 
of Venezuela, has the honor to inform the Honorable Earl of 
Aberdeen, Prime Secretary of State and Foreign Affairs, that 
his Government, being informed of the appointment by Her 
Majesty's Government of a Commissioner to fix and mark the 
limits between British Guiana and Venezuela, proposed since 
the 28th of January idtimo, that a treaty of boundaries be 
agreed upon by Plenipotentiaries fully authorized thereto, and 



7 



promised that, upon conclusion of said treaty, Venezuela would 
designate a Commissioner who, in accord with one appointed 
by Her Majesty's Government, would proceed to settle upon 
fixed bases and to mark the limits between British Guiana and 
Venezuela. Two days later the British Consul at Caracas 
announced that he had transmitted to his Government the 
proposition made by the Venezuelan Government, which is 
still awaiting a reply. 

The Honorable Earl of Aberdeen may now judge the sur- 
prise of the Government of Venezuela upon learning that, in 
the territorv of the Republic, a sentry-box has been erected, 
upon which the British flag has been raised. The Venezuelan 
Government is in ignorance of the origin and purport of these 
proceedings, and hopes that they may receive some satisfac- 
tory explanation of this action. In the meantime, the under- 
signed, in compliance with the instructions communicated to 
him, urges upon the Honorable Earl of Aberdeen the necessity 
of entering into a treaty of boundaries, as a previous step to the 
fixation of limits, and begs to ask for an answer to the above 
mentioned communication of January 28th. 

With sentiments of the highest consideration and esteem, 
the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen's most obedient servant, 

(Signed) A. Fortique. 

No. 22 Wimpole St., October 5th, 1841. 

To the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen, etc., etc., etc. 



Lord Aberdeen to Dr. Fortique. 

The Undersigned, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, has the honour to acknowledge the receipt 
of the note addressed to him on the 5th instant by M. For- 
tique, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Venezuela, 
referring to a correspondence which took place in January last 
between the acting British Consul at Caracas and the Venezue- 
lan Minister for Foreign Affairs, respecting the appointment 
of Mr. Schomburgk to survey and mark out the Boundaries 
between British Guiana and Venezuela, and stating that the 



8 



Government of Venezuela has been informed that a Guard 
House or Sentry Box has been erected upon the Venezuelan 
territory, and the British Flag has been hoisted thereon. 

The Undersigned has to inform M. Fortique that Her 
Majesty's Government has received from the Governor of Brit- 
ish Guiana Mr. Schomburgk's Report of his Proceeding in 
execution of the Commission with which he has been charged. 
That Report statesjthat Mr. Schomburgk set out from Dem< 
fara^ni^pririast", and was on his return to theJEsseg uibo R iyei 
at the end of ]_un£,_It appearskhat^KTrrSchomburgk planted 



^ BoundaryPosts at certain points of the country which he has 
surveyed, and that he was fully aware that the Demarcation so 
made was merely a preliminary measure open to future discus- 
sion between the_Goyj&mjii£ntsof Gr eat B ritaia.axid Venezuela, 
^^ut it does not appear that Mr. Schomburgk left beKirid him 
any Guard House, Sentry Box or other Building bearing the 
British Flag. 

With respect to the proposal of the Venezuelan Government 
that the Governments of Great Britain and Venezuela should 
conclude a Treaty as a preliminary step to the demarcation 
of the Boundaries between British Guiana and Venezuela, the 
Undersigned begs leave to observe that it appears to him that 
if it should be necessary to make a Treaty upon the subject 
of the Boundaries in question, such a measure should follow, 
rather than precede, the operation of the survey. 

The Undersigned requests M. Fortique to accept the assur- 



ances of his highest consideration. 



Foreign Office, October 2ist, 184; 



Aberdeen. 



Dr. Fortique to Lord Aberdeen. 

[Translation.] 

The undersigned, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic 
of Venezuela, has the honor to acknowledge receipt of the note 
dated the 2 1 St of October ultimo, in which the Hon. Earl of Aber- 
deen, H. British Majesty's Prime Secretary of State in the De- 
partment of Foreign Affairs, referring to the report made by 



9 



"Mr. R. H. Schomburgk on his topographical work in Guiana, 
•states that said commissioner planted boundary posts in the 
territory visited by him and that he was fully convinced that 
the demarcation thus made was simply a preliminary step sub- 
ject to future discussion between Great Britain and Venezuela. 

The undersigned, since then, has received instructions from 
his Government to assert to H. B. Majesty's Government that 
Commissioner Schomburgk, doubtlessly overstepping his in- 
structions, has planted, at a point on the mouth of the Orinoco, 
several posts, bearing Her Majesty's initials and raised, on the 
same place, with a show of armed forces, the British flag, and 
also performed several other acts of dominion and government. 

The Government of Venezuela, being successor to titles, 
never disputed by any nation, which Spain possessed to the 
province of Guiana ; being the peaceful possessor, not only of 
the Orinoco, but also of all the adjacent territory to a consid- 
erable distance, and finally, being confident of the integrity of 
the contiguous nations, were, until now under the belief that 
there was no reason to fear any invasion or any wrong, at least 
from a friend such as England, with whom they maintain such 
•close relations. 

This explains why, on the I2th of January of this year, 
when the British Consul pfo tem. in Caracas, addressed to the 
•Secretary of State in the Department of Foreign Affairs a com- 
:munication in which the information was conveyed by order of 
Viscount Palmerston that Her Majesty's Government had com- 
missioned the above mentioned Schomburgk to fix and mark 
the boundaries between British Guiana and Venezuela, the Ex- 
ecutive Power in reply to said communication proposed a 
boundary treaty to be negotiated by fully authorized plenipo- 
tentiaries as a previous step to the fixation and demarcation of 
limits, deeming that, this being a material operation, it was 
reasonable that its performance be made in accordance with 
whatever was stipulated. This proposition was not even an- 
swered and the commissioner acted as stated. 

If the mere fact of planting boundary posts in the territory 
•of the RepubHc is an open violation of her rights, the under- 
signed leaves it to the consideration of Her Majesty's Govern- 



10 



ment, to their penetration and their perspicacity, to judge of 
the impression received in Venezuela upon learning that the 
erection of these posts had been accompanied by all the signs 
of actual possession. The dissatisfaction caused by this unde- 
served offense has been indeed great ; suffice it to say, that the 
Executive Power has been accused of negligence in the preser- 
vation of the dignity and the possessions of the Republic, only 
because the Executive Power has always shown in this negotia- 
tion an unlimited confidence in the justice of Her Majesty's 
Government. 

Fortunately this confidence, so ominous to the Venezuelan 
people, has been until now justified, and the undersigned takes 
pleasure in stating that he has found in the Honorable Earl of 
Aberdeen the noble sentiments of liberality and honor befitting 
his Lordship's high public office, as his Lordship must have 
inferred from the interviews the undersigned has had with him 
in reference to this matter. The undersigned, therefore, has- 
no doubts but that he will obtain from Her British Majesty's 
Government a reparation for the wrong done to the dignity of 
the Republic, and that those signs which have so unpleasantly 
shaken public confidence will be ordered removed. The Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela might well, in justice and right, have 
had this done by their own order without offending, by so doing, 
the British Government, and the fact that, through extreme cour- 
tesy, this has not been done, must enhance before Her British 
Majesty's Ministers the deferential conduct of Venezuela. 

Aside from the subject matter of the foregoing, the following 
words have been noted as occurring in said communication of 
the acting British Consul at Caracas, to wit: **The Governor 
of British Guiana has been authorized to resist any aggression 
on the territories adjacent to the frontier until now occupied by 
independent tribes. " These words require explanation, because 
the Government of Venezuela cannot believe that Her Majesty's 
Government wanted to establish a principle of protection over 
the Indians living outside of the English frontier, who by this 
mere fact, occupy Venezuelan territory, or that England may 
pretend to recognize in the savage tribes the personality that 
the laws of nations concede only to nations constituted as a 



11 



political body, nor finally, that it be intended by this means to 
defraud Venezuela of the rights which, in America, have 
always been recognized as belonging to discoverers. 

The undersigned reiterates to the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen 
the sentiments of his highest consideration and esteem. 

A. FORTIQUE. 

No. 22 Wimpole st., November i8, 1841. 

To the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen, etc., etc., etc. 



Dr. Fortique to Lord Aberdeeii. 

The undersigned. Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic 
of Venezuela, has the honor to again address the Hon. Earl of 
Aberdeen, Her British Majesty's Prime Secretary of State in 
the Department of Foreign Affairs, in reference to the subject 
matter of his communication of the i8th of last month. The 
undersigned is aware that said communication was sent by the 
Hon. Earl of Aberdeen to the Colonial Department and that 
the large amount of official business engaging Her Majesty's 
Ministers has prevented an opportune reply to said communi- 
cation ; two important subjects, however, compel the under- 
signed to trouble them again, notwithstanding the above 
mentioned considerations. 

The first is a recent order from the Government of the 
undersigned, directing him to insist, not only upon the con- 
clusion of a treaty fixing the boundaries between Venezuela 
and British Guiana, but also, and this very particularly, to 
insist upon the removal of the signs set up, contrary to all 
rights, by the surveyor, R. H. Schomburgk, in Barima and in 
other points of the Venezuelan territory. In his afore- 
mentioned communication of the 18th of last month, the un- 
dersigned has already informed the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen 
of the dissatisfaction prevaiHng among the Venezuelans on this 
account, and now adds that this dissatisfaction, far from dimin- 
ishing, grows stronger, as is but natural, as time goes on and 
no reparation of the wrongs is made. 

The second relates to the conduct of the Governor of British 
Guiana in his conferences with the two Commissioners accred- 



12 



-ited by the Venezuelan Government to British Guiana with the 
mission of asking for explanations in regard to the aforesaid 
signs, as he stated to them that: " The true limits between the 
two Guianas being in reality undefined and under discussion, 
the work of Mr. Schomburek has not been done, nor could it 
have been done, with the object of taking possession, but was 
a mere demarcation of the line pretended by British Guiana, 
and that, therefore, while the limits are undetermined the 
Government of Venezuela must be confident that no forts shall 
be constructed on the territory in dispute, and that neither 
troops nor any other force shall be sent there." But, at the 
■same time that the Governor was making this manifest declara- 
tion of the lack of England's right in support of the demarca- 
tion made by Schomburgk, he also stated that he did not 
believe himself authorized to alter it, and thus by a contradic- 
tion worthy of consideration the authorities of British Guiana 
pretend to support effectually an act which, according to them- 
selves, has no value in law, and although to cover it, the 
aforementioned Schomburgk added that such lines were as 
valid as though they were drawn on the map with ink, their 
persistence in not removing them gives rise to suspicions not 
calculated to calm the dissatisfaction of the Nation, nor to 
inspire the Government of the undersigned with that confidence 
necessary to proceed to an understanding requiring, as the 
boundary question does, a most friendly disposition between 
adjoining peoples. 

The Venezuelans, their Government and the undersigned 
know, however, how to discriminate between the conduct, gen- 
erally timid and irresolute, of subordinate authorities and the 
upright and pure intentions of Her Majesty's Government, and 
are far from believing that in order to support the conduct 
of Commissioner Schomburgk, that Government should ap- 
prove with regard to the Venezuelan Government the same 
thing which has been reproved to the United States of North 
America. Venezuela's right in this matter, the assurance that 
the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen has given to the undersigned of the 
non importance which Her Majesty's Government attaches to 
the aforesaid signs ; the statements made by the Governor 



13 



of Demerara and Surveyor Schomburgk on this same subject,, 
the damages sustained, not only by the interests of the Vene- 
zuelans, but also by many of the British subjects estabhshed in 
this Republic, on account of the alarm prevailing in the 
Nation, and, finally, the confidence that the principles of dig- 
nity and uprightness of a Government as strong and powerful; 
as that of Great Britain must inspire, these are all considera- 
tions which maintain the ever increasing hopes in the under- 
signed that the signs of all kinds erected by Commissioner 
Schomburgk will be removed as early as possible, and that 
immediately afterwards the negotiations tending to a definite- 
settlement of the boundaries between the Guianas of Venezuela: 
and Great Britain will be commenced. 

The undersigned feels a particular satisfaction in renewing to^ 
the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen the expression of his consideration 
and respect. 

A. FORTIQUE. 

No. 22 Wimpole Street, December 8, 1841. 

To the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen, etc., etc., etc. 



Lord Aberdeeii to Dr. Fortique. 

Foreign Office, December 11, 1841. 
The Undersigned, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, has the honour to reply to the notes ad- 
dressed to him on the i8th ultimo^ and on the 8th instant, by 
M. Fortique, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ven- 
ezuela, requiring Her Majesty's Government to order the 
removal of the Post fixed by Mr. Schomburgk near the mouth 
of the River Orinoco, and repeating that M. Fortique is em- 
powered to make a treaty with Great Britain for the settlement 
of the Boundary between the British and Venezuelan posses- 
sions in Guiana. The Undersigned begs leave to refer to his 
note of the 21st of October last, in which he explained to M. 
Fortique that the proceeding of Mr. Schomburgk in planting^ 
Boundary Posts at certain points of the country which he has 
surveyed was merely a Preliminary measure open to future dis- 
cussion between the two Governments, and that it would be 



14 



premature to make a Boundary Treaty before the survey will 
be completed. — 

The Undersigned has only further^to state! that much unneces- 
sary inconvenience would result from the removal of the Posts 
fixed by Mr. Schomburgk, as they will afford the only tangible 
means by which Her Majesty's Government can be prepared 
to discuss the question of the Boundaries with the Government 
of Venezuela^ ll^Those Posts were erected for that express pur- 
pose, and not as the Venezuelan Government appear to appre- 
hend, as indications of Dominion and Empire on the part of j 
Greart Britain. J Aft4-4W Undcrsig ft^js ^glad to Learn^from ^ 
,'M. Fortique's note of the 8th instant that the two Venezuelan 
(Gentlemen who have been sent by their Government to British 
Guiana have had the means of ascertaining from the Governor") 
of that Colony that the Br^ish^^Authorities have not occupiec^ 
Point Barima^_____- ^^^^^ ~ ZIZZ^^^^^^^^ 

The Undersigned has the honor to renew to M. Fortique 
the assurance of his high consideration. Aberdeen. 

M. Fortique, etc., etc., etc. 



Dr. Fortique to Lord Aberdeen. 

The undersigned, Minister Plenipotentiary of the RepubHc 
of Venezuela, has the honor to reply to the communication 
of the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen, Her British Majesty's Prime 
Secretary of State in the Department of Foreign Affairs, dated 
on nth of last month, in which, referring to the signs placed 
on Venezuelan territory by Surveyor Schomburgk, his Lordship 
states that their removal would entail much useless trouble, as 
they offer the only tangible means by which Her Majesty's 
Government could be prepared to discuss the boundary ques- 
tion, and that they were erected with this special object, and 
not, as the Venezuelan Government seems to fear, as signs of 
dominion and government on the part of Great Britain. 

The undersigned regrets to be obliged to again insist upon 
this point ; but the damages sustained by Venezuela on account 
of the permanence of said signs are so serious, that he hopes, 



15 



in view of these facts, that the trouble resulting from their 
removal may not appear useless. 

The undersigned has already stated, either by writing or 
verbally, that the unexpected proceeding of the English Com- 
missioner, the ostentatious performance of this act, and the fact 
that the English flag was raised upon these same signs and Her 
British Majesty's monogram placed thereon, have given rise, as 
was to be expected, not only to the dissatisfaction of the 
Venezuelan people, but have also excited grave fears that all 
the explanations received up to the present time, and the hope 
which the undersigned has imparted that such signs would soon 
be removed, cannot wholly dissipate. The Venezuelan Gov- 
-ernment has vainly taken great pains to inspire confidence in 
the uprightness of Her Majesty's Government and to persuade 
the people that negotiations are preferable to force. Citizens, 
well worthy of the public esteem in which they are held, on 
seeing the position of the relations between the two countries, 
and fearing that the peace of English subjects resident in the 
Republic might be disturbed, have also vainly striven to the 
same end ; the Venezuelans have seen the English flag floating 
over their territory, and it is not to be expected that while 
such marks, erected so untimely, lest the Venezuelans should 
feel satisfied to let them remain, and malcontents will profit by 
this for their plots of ominous consequences. 

Congress will soon convene and the Executive must submit 
to that body both this matter and the Government's conduct in 
the premises. No one can tell in what light these will be 
looked upon by the Representatives of the' Nation nor how far 
they may be influenced by public alarm. It would be desirable 
then that they learn at the same time that the confidence in 
Her Majesty's Government has not been misplaced and that the 
marks or signs have been removed. 

Contraband trade, which reduces the revenue of the Treasury 
and so completely demoralizes communities, is also one of the 
evil results of these unfortunate signs, because, under the 
British flag raised in Barima, a perfect system of fraudulent 
trade has been established from the Island of Trinidad, affect- 
ing most seriously the interests of honest merchants, either 



16 



English or otherwise, who respect the laws of the country and 
who endeavor by means of honest trade to make profits pro- 
portionate to their labor. This is a calamity that at the present 
is deplored by British subjects resident in Trinidad, Barbadoes 
and other places, according to reports published by the news- 
papers of said islands and also by the city papers. Would the 
trouble resulting from the removal of the signs be useless if it 
is conducive to the preservation of the order and morality of a 
State that has constantly given to England proofs of its friend- 
ship and good faith ? 

In addition to this, the fatal results of public restlessness and 
the fact that a disagreement is to be feared, must be taken into 
consideration, and it will be seen that, even were the signs less 
significant than Her Majesty's Government proclaim them to 
be, the Governor of Demerara, Commissioner Schomburgk 
himself, a sentiment of justice, the consideration due to a 
friendly nation, demand their removal. 

But the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen is of opinion that these signs 
may serve as tangible means for the discussion of a boundary 
treaty, and it must be remarked at this juncture, that the line, 
such as it is described, is not the one H. B. M. believes to be 
the boundary of British Guiana, but the line that Commissioner 
Schomburgk has thought convenient to describe, as the map- 
which he was instructed to draw after examination of the terri- 
tory has not, even yet, been received in London. In this un- 
certainty the undersigned is not of the opinion that the fixa- 
tion of points should be the initial operation, nor does he be- 
lieve most appropriate to inspire that confidence required for 
any transaction the fact that one of the parties concerned should 
ascribe to itself, without previous consent of the other, the ter- 
ritory the possession of which is claimed. 

When the points over which a boundary line will pass have 
been agreed upon ; when, as was the case with the United 
States of North America, there is a previous boundary treaty^ 
in force, the commissioners of one or both parties may proceed 
to the material operation of describing said boundary, and in 
case they should not come to an understanding, they may pro- 
ceed to the erection of any signs which they may deem con- 



17 



venient, until an arrangement can be arrived at which shall de- 
pend solely upon the understanding or realization of what has 
been agreed upon. Venezuela is ready to enter into such an 
agreement and has invested the undersigned with the proper 
authority to that effect and if, as it is to be expected, H. M.'s 
Government is well disposed toward a friendly settlement, the 
removal of the aforesaid signs is not only useful, but is also an 
absolute necessity. 

The undersigned takes pleasure in renewing to the Hon. 
Earl of Aberdeen the assurance of his highest consideration 
and esteem. A. Fortique. 

22 Wimpole st., January lo, 1842. 

To the Hon. Earl of Aberdeen, etc., etc., etc. 



The undersigned, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
the note addressed to him on the loth instant by M. Fortique, 
Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Venezuela, repre- 
senting the alarm and excitement which have been created in 
Venezuela on account of the marks fixed by Mr. Schomburgk 
at different points of his survey near the mouth of the Orinoco, 
and renewing his request that Her Majesty's Government will 
order the removal of those marks. 

The undersigned begs to inform M. Fortique in reply, that 
in order to meet the wishes of the Government of Venezuela, 
Her Majesty's Government will send instructions to the Gov- 
ernor of British Guiana, directing him to move the posts which 
have been placed by M. Schomburgk near the Orinoco. 

But the undersigned feels it his duty distinctively to declare 
to M. Fortique, that, although, in order to put an end to the 
misapprehension which appears to prevail in Venezuela with 
regard to the object of M. Schomburgk^s survey, the under- 
signed has consented to comply with the renewed representa- 



Lord Aberdeen to Dr. Fortique. 



[Copy.] 




Foreign Office, January 31, 1842. 



18 



tions of M. Fortique upon this affair ; Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment must not be understood to abandon any portion of the 
rights of Great Britain over the territory which was formerly 
held by the Dutch in Guiana. 

The undersigned begs to renew to M. Fortique the assurance 
of his high consideration. 

(Signed) Aberdeen. 

M. Fortique, etc., etc., etc. 



Mr. Hairy Light to Mr. Daniel F. O'Lcary. 

British Guiana, Government House, 

Demerara, March 9, 1842. 

Sir — I have the honour to inform you, for the satisfaction 
of the Government of Venezuela, that I have received instruc- 
tions from the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the 
Colonies to remove the landmarks placed by Mr. Schomburgk 
on the Barima and elsewhere in his survey of the assumed 
limits of British Guiana. 

These instructions having been given will, I trust, be received 
by you as a pledge of the friendly intentions of Her Majesty's 
Government, and shall be obeyed as soon as possible. 

In the meantime, if any delay arise in carrying into effect the 
orders I have received, I trust to your good offices to point 
out to the Venezuelan Government that all grounds of remon- 
strance may be considered removed, from the concession made 
to it by the British Ministers. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient, humble 
servant, Henry Light, 

Governor British Guiana. 



Mr. O'Leary, British Consul at Caracas, to Dr. Araiida. 

Caracas, April 8, 1842. 

The undersigned. Her Britannic Majesty's acting Consul at 
Caracas, has the honor to transmit herewith to M. Aranda, 



19 



Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of 
Venezuela, copy of a despatch which he has received from the 
Governor of British Guiana, acquainting the undersigned, for 
the satisfaction of the Venezuelan Government, that His Ex- 
cellency has been directed by the Right Honorable the Secre- 
tary for the Colonies to remove the landmarks placed by Mr. 
Schomburgk near the mouth of the Orinoco ; and expressing 
a hope that the Venezuelan Government will consider all 
grounds of remonstrance removed, from the concession made 
to it by Her Majesty's Government. 

The undersigned feels most happy when he has it in his 
power to communicate to M. Aranda any inteUigence that may 
be agreeable to the Venezuelan Government, and he avails 
himself of this opportunity to renew to M. Aranda the assur- 
ance of his high consideration. 

Daniel F. O'Leary. 

His Excellency M. Aranda, etc , etc., etc. 



Dr. Fortique, Venezuelan Mi?iister at Lo?ido?t, to Lord Aberdeen, 
Chief Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of H. B. M's Gov- 
ernme7it, January ji, 1844. 

[Translation.] 

Her Majesty's Government being desirous to learn which 
were the limits of EngHsh Guiana, ordered a map to be drawn. 
These instructions were carried out in a manner that caused the 
Government of Venezuela to complain of the conduct of the 
Commissioner, as he entered into Venezuelan territory and 
therein erected, at his will, posts and tents that were subse- 
quently removed by the express order of Her Majesty's Gov- 
■ernment. Since that occurrence, the undersigned, Minister 
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Venezuela, has not ceased 
to urge the Count of Aberdeen, Prime Secretary of State of 
Her Majesty in the Department of Foreign Affairs, to com- 
mence without delay negotiations for a treaty fixing definitely 
the boundryline that shall divide the two countries. Although 
it was undoubtedly the duty of the one who promoted this 
question to take the first steps toward the negotiation of the 



20 



treaty, the undersigned being well aware that other important 
matters claim the attention of Her Majesty's Government, and 
as he ought not to wait indefinitely, hastens to propose an 
agreement which, if left for a later date, may be difficult to con- 
clude. It cannot be expected, however, that in a communi- 
cation of this character he should undertake to justify the rights 
of the Republic, and even absolute silence on this question 
would be excusable ; but his confidence in the good faith, con- 
ciliatory spirit, and the sentiments of justice of Her Majesty's 
Government is so complete that, in the behef that they may 
lead to an amicable settlement of the question, he has decided 
to make a few remarks on the subject. 

No one has ever denied to Spain her rights as discoverer and 
first occupant of the New World. All nations have, directly 
or indirectly, recognized such rights, and it would be length)^ 
and unnecessary to enumerate here the facts that go to prove 
this. Upon this being understood, it may not be amiss to re- 
call the fact that the coasts of the territory in question were the 
very same that Columbus saw when he first discovered the 
American Continent ; that it was here where Alonzo de Ojeda 
began his discovery and conquest of Venezuela ; that this was 
the same land the government of which was ceded to Diego de 
Ordaz by the Emperor Charles V., and that which in the earljr 
part of the sixteenth century was courageously explored by this 
same Ordaz, and by Herrera, Ortal, Cedeno, and others. It is 
also pertinent to recall that the occupancy of this land followed 
soon after its discovery, and with its occupancy a decided in- 
tention to retain possession of it ; then also followed the found- 
ing of towns, the sending of missionaries, and the civilization of 
the Indians based upon the gospel. This shows why, in 1579, 
the enemies of Spain found towns to destroy and priests to per^ 
secute, as the effects of the war that alternately divided the 
nations of Europe were disastrously felt in those far-off regions, 
where invasions, attacks, and conflagrations were of frequent 
occurrence. The very rights that no one could dispute with_ 
Spain excited both envy and vengeance. 

But the sufferings of Spanish Guiana cannot be exclusively^ 
attributed to war. The report of the gold that was supposed 



21 



to exist in this section, its rich woods, its tobacco, and the facil- 
ities for enslaving the natives, excited cupidity, and several ex- 
peditions were formed. For the present, it will suffice to cite, 
among others, the famous one of Sir Walter Raleigh, in which 
the city of Santo Tomas was destroyed for the second time, 
not a trace remaining of it. The sad recollection of this fact 
is presented here simply to prove, even with the testimony of 
an old English traveler, that the Spaniards were in possession 
then of the Orinoco and of all its contiguous territory, that they 
already occupied the rivers Barima, Moroco, and Pumaron, 
that their domain extended to the Essequibo, and that, accord- 
ing to the document which he found in possession of Governor 
Antonio Berrio, formal possession of that territory was again 
taken in the name of the King of Spain, on the 23d day of 
April, 1593. 

Were it desirable to quote other testimony even less liable to 
objection to prove the exclusive possession of the Spaniards in 
these lands, previous to the treaty of Miinster, that of Juan de 
Laet might be added. He was a Dutchman, a member of the 
Leyden University, who, about this time, undertook to write 
about the prowess of his countrymen in South America, as well 
as of that of the English and Spaniards ; and if he assumes that 
the Dutch were occupants of certain points on the Amazon, he 
also agrees with Sir Walter Raleigh in regard to the Spanish 
■occupancy of the Orinoco, Moroco, and Pumaron. 

The treaty of Miinster has been mentioned because all know 
that in it was expressly stipulated that v/hatever territory the 
contracting parties were possessed of at that date was to be 
retained, both of the contracting parties agreeing not to en- 
croach upon any territory occupied by the other party. It 
follows then that the Dutch, not being possessors of any terri- 
tory in Guiana, at least on the opposite side of the Essequibo, 
they could not trespass upon that line without violating an 
express agreement, not to mention the violation of Spain's 
right as discoverer and first occupant. But there exist besides 
authentic documents, signed by the kings of Spain, in which 
the territory of the Province of Guiana is extended to the Ama- 
zon. It must be inferred from this that, in the belief of said 



22 



sovereigns, with the exception of what the Dutch had takeD 
from the Portuguese in Brazil, nothing less belonged to Spain 
(A. D. 1750). In a public treaty Spain and Portugal recipro- 
cally guarantee their respective possessions in South America, 
and agree to aid and to support each other until they remain irt 
peaceable enjoyment of their domains, this obligation, on the 
part of Portugal, extending from the Amazon or Maranon to 
the borders of the Orinoco on both sides. 

There also exists a royal decree which establishes (March 5,. 
1768,) the limits of Spanish Guiana and carries them to the 
south as far as the Amazons, extending them to the east to the 
Atlantic Ocean. It is not to be believed that the kings of 
Spain and all their ministers should make an error in so weighty 
a matter, nor that they should appear before all other nations^ 
as giving to themselves territories that did not belong to them. 

No ; the truth is, as Martens says (Diplomatic Course, vol. 
3, page 183) : **The conquests made by the Dutch in the Indies 
and in America during the long war of their revolt against 
Spain went as far as the Portuguese, then subjects to the crown 
of Spain. The Peace of Miinster therefore took nothing away 
from Spain when it was stipulated, in Article 5th, that each o^^ 
the contracting parties should 'retain their possessions in the 
East Indies and on the coasts of Asia, Africa, and America.' 

But, be this as it may, it cannot be denied that the Essequibo 
has been considered as the dividing line between the two pos- 
sessions, either on account of difficulty in crossing it, its current: 
being so strong that the natives called it ''the brother of the 
Orinoco," or that the kings of Spain, being unable to control 
such a vast expanse of coast, reserved to themselves particularly 
that part lying between the Essequibo and the Orinoco, with- 
out, however, resigning the right they had to the rest of the 
territory. "English Guiana" — says La Condamine — "com- 
mences at the Marawine river and ends at the Essequibo ; there 
remains for Spanish Guiana the territory lying between the 
Essequibo, where Dutch Guiana ends, and the Orinoco. 
Norie, the English geographer, author of the Chart of the coast 
of Guiana, makes the same assertion. His words are worth 
quoting : * ' British Guiana extends from the Corawine in a 



23 



northwesterly direction to the Essequibo. This was the true 
line of extension of the Colony as agreed upon between the 
Spaniards and the Dutch by the Miinster Treaty in 1648, which 
never since then has been revoked.'' Bellin, Engineer of the navy 
and ot the school of charts, Royal Censor of the Naval Academy 
and of the Royal Society of London, a man of whose impar- 
tiality and learning it were injustice to dispute, in treating of 
this subject finds himself compelled to make an assertion which, 
as coming from an old foreign writer, bears upon this case. He 
says that he gives the name of Dutch Guiana to the territory 
that the Dutch occupied and were possessed of" when he 
wrote, *'not attempting, however, to decide upon the rightful- 
ness of its possession, nor to injure in any way whatever the rights 
that the French or the Spaniards, their neighbors, may have upon 
the same land, where the Dutch have been seen increasing and 
extending step by step, advancing settlements as far as it has 
been possible for them to go." 

Countless quotations could be made with the authority of the 
men of learning who have treated on this subject, to show that 
the territory lying between the Essequibo and the Orinoco has 
been considered by the world as the exclusive property of Spain. 
It will be noticed that purposely quotations have been omitted 
from Spanish writers, who afford the most abundant evidence in 
favor of Venezuela, since the undersigned, as above stated, has 
only undertaken to make some brief remarks and has thought 
it best, for the present, to make use of the words of foreign 
writers. Moreover, the undersigned is not ignorant of the fact 
that, the rights of Spain as first occupant and by the stipula- 
tions of the Miinster Treaty being established, upon Her Maj- 
esty's Government would devolve the difficult task of proving 
that the Dutch were the rightful possessors, or that Spain 
approved of their encroachments ; but instead of this we find 
that as far back as 1596, the Dutch, having undertaken to cross 
the Essequibo, were immediately repulsed by the Spaniards, 
who compelled them to retreat to the river headwaters, where 
it could not be said that they were tolerated, as even toward 
the middle and the end of the last century, particularly on the 
Pumaron and the Moroco, they were disturbed and attacked, 



24 



the Spaniards striving to expel them as intruders who violated 
an express agreement. It cannot be said that these hostilities 
emanated from private authority. They were, on the contrary, 
expeditions ordered and approved by the Kings of Spain (Royal 
Decree dated at Aranjuez, on the loth of August, 1780), who 
cautioned those intrusted to direct these expeditions that, 
"should the Director or Governor-General of Essequibo com- 
plain on this account," he should be answered that they were 
acting in this matter " in accordance with the laws and general 
instructions for the proper government of the Indies, which do 
not countenance such intrusions of foreigners upon Spanish ter- 
ritory" such as this was; and that this same answer would be 
given in Madrid should the States-General of Holland either 
make any complaint or present any claims. These attacks, 
these orders, and solemn declarations do most certainly reject 
all idea of consent, on the part of the Spaniards, to the usurpa- 
tions of the Dutch. Without this consent no pretensions could 
be made, not even to the title of prescription, which is founded 
upon the belief that the owner has abandoned the right he 
owned. 

The undersigned is well aware that some modern travelers, 
such as Depons and Humboldt, indicate Cape Nassau, on the 
coast, and the Essequibo river, in the interior, as the boundary 
between the Spanish and the Dutch (now English) Guianas ; 
and it was, perhaps, referring to them that the Governor of 
Demerara gave his opinion that '^the river Pumaron, west of the 
Essequibo, could be taken as the boundary of the colony." 
(Parliamentary Papers, desp'd, September i, 1838.) But these 
travelers followed Bellin^s course ; not pretending to decide 
upon the rightfulness of the Dutch possessions, and without 
any injury to the right of the Spaniards, they divided the terri- 
tory according to the material occupation then existing. Hum- 
boldt, besides, refers to the chart of Major J. von Bouchenroeder, 
a Dutchman, who made it by order of the Committee on Colo- 
nies and Possessions of the Republic of Batavia, which chart 
was dedicated to him. It is not, therefore, Humboldt's testi- 
mony, but the testimony of a Dutch commissioner, which in 
reality has served as a guide to the Governor of Demerara, who 



25 



•can undoubtedly be excused, as showing his desire to increase, 
as much as possible, the country with whose government he has 
been entrusted. Depons conclusively declares that *'the Dutch, 
violating the original treaties, had erected advanced posts on 
the Spanish territory." 

Enough has already been said in regard to this retention 
damaging to the rights of Spain as the first occupant and in vio- 
lation of the Miinster treaty, to render further insistence upon 
this point unnecessary. Therefore the undersigned will only 
recommend a very special circumstance in this effort of the 
Kings of Spain to defend their territory against the invasions of 
the Dutch, and this circumstance is that Great Britain, who suc- 
ceeded the latter, agreed at Utrecht by a public treaty (A. D. 
171 3) to aid Spain as much as she could in the restoration of the 
old boundaries of its possessions in America, as they existed 
•during the time of the Catholic King Charles II. The Dutch, 
themselves, acknowledged the justice of this agreement when 
.acquainted with it, they ratified on the following year, and at 
the same place, the treaty of Miinster. These documents would 
make a strange contrast with the pretensions of disputing with 
Spain, or her successor, the Republic of Venezuela, the terri- 
tory contiguous to the Orinoco, if such pretensions should 
emanate from any of the sovereigns who so solemnly engaged 
themselves to fulfill the Treaty of Utrecht. Happily this state 
of affairs has not yet arrived, and probably, never will, as it is only 
a question of peaceable fixing, and in a conciliatory spirit, the 
dividing line of two friendly States, for whom the main object is 
the maintenance of their pleasant relations, which certainly are 
worth much more than the uncultivated and barren land that 
may be the cause of a controversy. 

But, upon drawing this line the future must not be lost sight 
of, and such points must be selected as will allow a division to 
be made which will obviate all causes of further misunderstand- 
ing. There exists no doubt that the Essequibo seems to be a 
river purposely made by nature to fulfill this object, and as the 
British colonists, at present, occupy nothing, or almost noth- 
ing, of the land between this river and the Orinoco, their plan- 
tations being on the other side, a settlement of this question 



26 



upon this basis would suit the purpose, and would insure to 
Great Britain even the most remote rights that she may possess 
as the successor to Holland. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew 
to the Earl of Aberdeen the assurance of his consideration and 
respect. (Signed) A. Fortique, 

22 Wimpole street, January 31, 1844. 

To the Earl of Aberdeen, etc., etc., etc. 



Lord Aberdce?LS Reply to the Foregoing Note. 

[Retranslation.] 

The undersigned, Her Majesty's Prime Secretary of State in 
the Department of Foreign Affairs, had the honor to receive, 
on the first of last month, a note from Seiior Fortique, Minister 
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Venezuela at this Court, call- 
ing the attention of Her Majesty's Cabinet to the question of 
limits between British Guiana and the Republic of Venezuela, 

Mr. Fortique commences said note by recalling to the under- 
signed certain acts of the Commissioners appointed by Her Ma- 
jesty's Government to examine the limits of the Colony, which 
gave rise to the complaint of the Government of Venezuela on 
the ground that they had invaded territory of the Republic and 
planted therein certain marks which, Senor Fortique observes, 
were immediately removed by the express order of Her Majes- 
ty's Government. 

The undersigned believes that, before proceeding, he must 
remind Seiior Fortique that Her Majesty's Government's con- 
sent to the removal of said marks must not be construed as a 
resignation of any of the rights that, in the future, it may be 
deemed proper to claim, but that it was only prompted by a 
friendly deference to the entreaties of the Government of Vene- 
zuela. 

Senor Fortique then remarks that, although it properly be- 
longs to the party who promoted this question to take the first 
steps toward its settlement, he hastens to propose an arrange- 
ment, which, if left for a later date, may be difficult to conclude, 



27 



and proceeds, therefore, to state some of the facts upon whicb 
the claims of Venezuela to a certain boundary line are based, 
observing-, however, that it cannot be expected that in a com- 
munication he would undertake to justify the rights of the Re- 
public, and that even absolute silence on this point would be 
excusable. The undersigned believes that the claims presented- 
by Seiior Fortique, and the accounts upon which he based them, 
may be condensed to the following : 

That the American continent not only was discovered and 
originally occupied by subjects of the Spanish Crown, but that 
the territory now under discussion — that is, the country lying 
between the Orinoco, the Barima, Pumaron, and the Essequi^ 
bo — was at a very early date explored and inhabited by the 
Spaniards, and that on this account became a point of attack 
for the enemies of Spain. Senor Fortique tries to account for' 
these facts by referring to a concession made by the Emperor, 
Charles V., and by the condition in which Sir Walter Raleigh 
found the coasts of the territory in question, at the end of the 
XVIth century and beginning of the XVIIth. 

That when the Miinster Treaty was concluded, this country . 
remained under the exclusive power of the Spaniards, and that 
the Dutch, not having at that time any possessions on the coast 
west of the Essequibo, they could not cross the river unless in- 
violation of said treaty. 

Senor Fortique then states that no one could deny that the 
Essequibo was always considered as a dividing line between the 
Spanish and Dutch possessions, either on account of the strong 
currents which made navigation difficult, or because it not being 
possible for Spain to control all the coast, her occupation of the 
territory was limited to the space lying between the Orinoco and 
the Essequibo. His Excellency states that he could cite count- 
less authorities to prove that this territory has been considered 
by all the world as the exclusive property of Spain. Senor 
Fortique quotes three of these authorities, one of them the au- 
thor of a modern English Treatise on Coast Navigation, in which, 
this author has not used his own data, being compelled, on ac- 
count of the character of the work, to rely on Spanish authori- 
ties ; the other two are French. In conclusion, after briefly 



28 



quoting from Depons and Humboldt, whose testimony contra- 
dicts the exclusive right claimed by Venezuela, Seiior Fortique 
says that — there being no doubt that the Essequibo is the nat- 
ural limit, and as the British colonists at present occupy noth- 
ing, or next to nothing, between the Essequibo and the Ori- 
noco — the selection of the former river as the boundary line of 
the colony would be a settlement of the question by which 
Great Britain would insure all her rights. 

The undersigned thinks this a fair exposition of Venezuela's 
rights, as Seiior Fortique has wished to describe them in his 
communication. But that in so presenting this right there 
should be a desire to promote a friendly settlement of the 
question, as Senor Fortique states at the beginning of his 
communication, would appear, without the express declaration 
of His Excellency, doubtful to the undersigned, who can only 
state the surprise of H. M. 's Government at such an exposition. 

The fact that the American continent was discovered and 
largely occupied bv Spanish subjects cannot certainly be dis- 
puted, but this does not bear directly upon the matter under 
discussion. Seiior Fortique wished it to be understood that 
up to 1648 (date of the Miinster Treaty] no section west of 
the Essequibo had been occupied by the Dutch, and that their 
endeavors to cross the river had been fruitless. Were this 
true, it would be of greater importance for the object His 
Excellency has in view. But the undersigned must remark 
that this statement is so far from being true that, according 
to J. de Laet ( the same authority quoted by Seiior Fortique), 
the Dutch since 1580 navigated the Orinoco river, with the 
object to establish themselves at such points as were not occu- 
pied by the Spaniards; and in 1581 the States-General granted 
to certain parties the exclusive privilege to trade with those set- 
tlements. It is also stated that, toward the end of the same 
century, there existed a company of merchants in Middle- 
burgh trading on the Barima river. Be this as it may, it is 
certain that in 1621, a body of merchants, under the name of 
the West India Company, obtained from the States-General 
the privilege of exclusive trade with America, and of govern 



29 



ing new colonies that they might have acquired, said States- 
reserving the right to appoint Governors. Hartsinck, the 
most truthful historian of Guiana, states, more than once, that 
the Orinoco river was the limit of the West India Company. 

As Senor Fortique states, it was agreed between the Spanish 
Crown and the States-General by the Miinster Treaty in 1648, 
that both of the contracting parties should retain their posses- 
sion of all the points in Asia, Africa, and America, which they 
were occupying at that time, and including especially all the 
settlements of the West India Company. 

In proof of the fact that such settlements extended as far 
as the Orinoco, a document can be seen by which the West 
India Company donated to the Count Fernando Casimiro de 
Hanau a parcel of the land they owned on the American coast, 
and that the Orinoco was mentioned as the western limit of 
said possession. This document is dated 1669, only twenty- 
one years after the Miinster Treaty was concluded. 

Prior to this, in 1657, the Dutch erected the forts of New Zea- 
land and New Middleburgh on the Pumaron and on the Moroco. 

It was at the former of these forts that in 1797, during an 
attack made by the Spaniards, they were completely routed by 
the garrison, which was composed of Dutch and English sol- 
diers, and were compelled to seek refuge in their boats, with the 
loss of many lives. 

In 1674 the West India Company, formed in 162 1, was dis- 
solved, but a new company was formed and authorized, re- 
stricting their rights to trade with certain parts of Africa, the 
Island of Curacao, and the colonies of the Essequibo and 
Boneverone (Pumaron), the latter extending, as above stated, 
as far as the Orinoco. 

Pursuing the examination of the authorities, which in more 
modern times confirm these data, it will be found that in the 
History of South America by Bolt, published about the mid- 
dle of the last century, Dutch Guiana is described as extending 
from the mouth of the Orinoco at 9° as far as the Marawaina 
to 6° 20' latitude north ; that in a map of said coast published 
in 1783 by Taden, the Orinoco river is established as the: 



30 



western limit of the Dutch, according to their pretensions; and 
that in a more recent chart published by Feffervs in 1798 the 
Barima river is described as being the division between the 
Dutch and Spanish lands. The undersigned must declare that 
these authorities cannot be rejected as being English, and, 
therefore, having an interest in this question because, although 
at the date of the last cited chart the Dutch colony was under 
the protection of Great Britain, it was restored to the Batavian 
Republic in 1802, and there is no reason to doubt the testi- 
monv of Taden and Bolt, or to accuse them of partiality. 

It is doubtful whether the same could be said of La Conda- 
mine, Bellin, and other French writers, whose government 
alwavs showed itself to be jealous of the progress of the 
Dutch in the neighborhood of the settlements of Cayena. 

But, in realitv, no doubt can exist that the mouth of the 
Orinoco was not only claimed by the Dutch as the western 
limit of their possessions, but also that, from the very begin- 
ning, they effected its military occupation and retained pos- 
session of it. Hartsinck savs: "The first rivers found in 
Dutch Guiana coming from the Orinoco are the Barima, about 
one mile in width, where in olden times we had a fort." There 
exist documents of the West India Company showing that the 
directors recommended to the commander of Pumaron to keep 
the Barima fort in good condition. Colonel Moody found the 
ruins of these fortifications when in 1 807 the English occupied 
the coast, and were preparing to send some forces to Angos- 
tura to destroy the buccaneers that were pillaging the coasts of 
Dutch Guiana, and also to fortify that place again. Mr. 
Schomburgk, when in the discharge of a commission, found 
the remains of the fort and also of cultivation in the neigh- 
boring territory. 

The undersigned does not deem further evidence necessary 
to show how erroneous are the assertions of Senor Fortique 
when he [states that the Essequibo has been considered as 
a dividing line between the two countries, and that the terri- 
tory lying between that river and the Orinoco has been consid- 
ered by the world as belonging exclusively to Spain. These 



31 



statements make the undersigned feel justified in doubting 
whether Senor Fortique would be supported by his own coun- 
trymen in his views, taking into consideration that in the maps 
of the provinces of Venezuela published four years ago by an 
ofificer of the Republic, the extreme limits of the Venezuelan 
eastern claim is the Moroco river; and, in truth, to judge from 
the exaggerated pretensions found in this work on other points, 
the author is not inclined to sin on the side of generosity with 
respect to the neighboring British colony. 

Were the undersigned inclined to act upon the spirit of Sefior 
Fortique's communication, it is evident, by what he has said, 
that he ought to claim, on behalf of Great Britain as the rightful 
successor to Holland, all the coast from the Orinoco to the 
Essequibo; and such claim, aside from all question of right, 
would certainly be much less injurious to Venezuela than the 
pretensions of Seiior Fortique is to England, as Venezuela has 
no settlements on the disputed territory, and the admission or ac- 
knowledgment of the Essequibo as the limit of the Republic 
would, of course, mean that Great Britain should deliver about 
one-half of the Colony of Demarara, including Point Cartabo 
and the Island of Kykoveral where the Dutch founded their first 
settlements on the Mazaruni, the missions of Barlika Grove, and 
many settlements now existing on the Arabisi coast as far as fifty 
miles from the capital. 

But the undersigned believes that the negotiations would not 
be free from difficulties if the claims that cannot be sustained 
are presented, and shall not, therefore, follow Senor Fortique's 
example, but state here the concessions that Great Britain is 
disposed to make of her rights, prompted by a friendly con- 
sideration for Venezuela, and by her desire to avoid all cause 
of serious controversies between the two countries. 

Being convinced that the most important object for the in- 
terests of Venezuela is the exclusive possession of the Orinoco, 
Her Majesty's Government is ready to yield to the Republic 
of Venezuela a portion of the coast sufficient to insure her the 
free control of the mouth of this her principal river, and to pre- 
vent its being under the control of any foreign power. With 



32 



this end in view, and being persuaded that a concession of the 
greatest importance has been made to Venezuela, Her Majes- 
ty's Government is disposed to lav aside its rights upon the 
Amacuro as the western limit of the British territory, and to 
consider the mouth of the Guaima river as the boundary of Her 
Majesty's possessions on the coast side. ^Moreover, Her Maj- 
esty's Government will consent that the boundary in the interior 
be fixed by a line from the mouth of the ]\Ioroco to the point 
where the rivers Barama and Guaima meet ; continuing from 
this point the line follows up the Barama as far as the Aunama, 
whose upward course will be followed until this stream ap- 
proaches the point nearest the Acarabisi; then following the 
downward course of the Acarabisi as far as its confluence with 
the Cuyuni, it will pursue the upward course of the latter as 
far as the high lands contiguous to the Roraima mountain, 
where its waters are divided betw^een the Essequibo and the 
river Branco. 

Great Britain is, then, disposed to cede to Venezuela all the 
territory lying between the above mentioned line and the Ama- 
curo river and the chain of mountains where it has its head, 
upon condition that the Government of Venezuela shall engage 
itself not to alienate any portion of said territory to any foreign 
power, and also upon condition that the tribes of Indians now 
living in said territory shall be protected against all ill-treat- 
ment and oppression. 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to Senor Fortique 
the assurance of the highest consideration. 

(Signed.) Aberdeen. 

Foreign Office, March 30, 1844. 



33 



PART IV. 

Mr. Belford Hi?iton Wtlso?i, British Represe?itative at Caracas, lo 
the Ve?ieziiela?i Mi?iister of Foreign Affairs. 

British Legation.^ — Number ii8. 

Caracas, November i8, 1850. 

Senor Vice?ite Lecima, Secretary of State for Foreigii Affairs of Ven- 
ezuela, etc., etc., etc. 

On the 3rd of April last, the undersigned, Her Britannic 
Majesty's Charge d' Affairs, had the honour of showing to Mr. 
Fernando Olavarria, then Secretary of State for Foreign Af- 
fairs of Venezuela, in original, a report which on the previous 
day the undersigned had addressed to Her Majesty's Principal 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, stating the character 
and object of a propaganda of falsehood and calumny in re- 
gard to the conduct and policy of the British Government in 
the boundary question between Great Britain and Venezuela; 
and at the same time the undersigned acquainted his Lordship 
with the steps he had taken to contradict the rumors which 
were mischievously being spread in Venezuela, that Great 
Britain intended to claim the Province of the Venezuelan 
Guiana. 

Those steps were to assure the Venezuelan Government that 
all that the propaganda had divulged on this was false, and to 
send to the Venezuelan Government a copy of a dispatch which 
on the 20th of the preceding March, he had addressed to Ken- 
neth Mathison, British Vice-consul at Bolivar; in which dispatch, 
after stating what the course and conduct of Her Majesty's 
Government in this matter had been in reality since November, 
1847, he declared formally that the intentions which, with the 
manifest purpose of serving the private interest of certain, 
well-known individuals, and the political schemes of the prop- 



34 



aganda, had been imputed since 1843 to Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment, were not only wholly and absolutely destitute of the 
least foundation, but were precisely the reverse of the truth. 

A copy and translation of that dispatch to Mr. Mathison 
were published by the Venezuelan Government in the Official 
Gazette of Venezuela 981 ; and under date of the 13th May 
last, Her Britannic Majesty approved of the conduct of the 
undersigned on this subject. 

The undersigned begs to observe here that on the 5th of 
April he read in translation to His Excellency the President 
the above report to his Government, the original of which, as 
he has already said, he had shown on the 3d of that month to 
Mr. Olavarria, who reads English. 

On the 13th of the same month of April, the undersigned 
thought it his duty to transmit to His Government extracts 
of letters which Vice-consul Mathison addressed to him from 
Bolivar under date of 2, 8, 18, 22 and 30 of March, saying 
that orders had been communicated to the authorities of the 
Province of Guiana to place it in a state of defense, and to 
repair and arm the dismantled and abandoned forts, and that 
Governor Jost^ Tomas Machado had spoken of raising a fort 
at Point Barima, the right of possession to which is in dispute 
between Great Britain and Venezuela. 

The undersigned thought it likewise to be his duty to com- 
municate to his Government the introduction in the House of 
Representatives of a bill recorded in number 62 of the Diario 
de Debates (Journal of Debates), authorizing the Executive 
Government to construct at once a fort on the point serving as 
boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana, without how- 
ever naming this point, thus authorizing the Executive Govern- 
ment to commit de facto an aggression and usurpation on the 
territory in dispute between the two countries, by the construc- 
tion of a fort on any point which Venezuela may claim, al- 
though Great Britain may also claim the lawful possession of 
that point. 

The tone and language employed towards Great Britain in 
the course of the debates on this bill, which the undersigned 



35 



will not stop to characterize, left no' reasonable foundation to 
doubt of the imminence of the danger to which British rights 
would be exposed in the event of the bill becoming law. 

However, the undersigned made known with pleasure to his 
Government the friendly assurances which he received from 
His Excellency the President and the judicious conduct the 
latter observed in fact, and likewise that the bill has not yet 
become a law. 

But in relation to the existence of a propaganda to mislead 
and excite public opinion in Venezuela concerning the bound- 
ary question between British Guiana and Venezuela, and the 
consequefit possibility of aggressions and usurpations on the 
part of the authorities of Venezuelan Guiana on the territory 
in dispute between the two countries. Viscount Palmerston, 
under date of June 1 5th, transmitted to the undersigned for 
his knowledge and guidance a letter which His Lordship has 
addressed to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, noti- 
fying to them the Queen's injunctions in regard to the orders 
to be given to the Vice- Admiral commanding Her Majesty's 
naval forces in the West Indies, as to the course he is to pursue 
if the Venezuelan authorities construct fortifications in the ter- 
ritory in dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela. 

The undersigned has also been instructed to call the serious 
attention of the President and Government of Venezuela to 
this question, and to declare that while on the one hand Her 
Majesty's Government have no intention to occupy, or en- 
croach upon, the territory in dispute, on the other hand they 
will not see with indifference the aggressions of Venezuela 
upon that territory. 

The undersigned has been instructed furthermore to say that 
under these circumstances Her Majesty's Government expect 
that positive instructions will be sent to the Venezuelan author- 
ities in Guiana to refrain from taking measures which the Brit- 
ish authorities might justly regard as aggressive; for such 
measures, if taken, would forcibly lead to a collision which 
Her Majesty's Government would deeply regret, but for the 
consequences of which, whatever they might be. Her Majesty's 



36 



Government would hold the Government of Venezuela entirely 
responsible. 

. The Venezuelan Government, in justice to Great Britain 
cannot mistrust for a moment the sincerity of the formal dec- 
laration which is now made in the name and by the express 
order of Her Majesty's Government, that Great Britain has no 
intention to occupy, or encroach upon, the territory in dispute; 
therefore, the' Venezuelan Government, in an equal spirit of 
good faith and friendship, cannot refuse to make a similar dec- 
laration to Her Majesty's Government, namely, that Venezuela 
herself has no intention to occupy, or encroach upon, the ter- 
ritory in dispute. 

The systematic perseverance with which since 1843 ^he 
propaganda has fabricated and circulated false rumors in re- 
gard to the conduct and policy of Her Majesty's Government 
in what concerns the Venezuelan Guiana, among other mis- 
chievous effects, has produced that of serving the ends of that 
propaganda, and keeping alive an insane spirit of distrust and 
puerile credulity as to all the frivolous rumors respecting this 
boundary question, thus exposing the amicable relations be- 
tween Great Britain and Venezuela to be at any moment inter- 
rupted, by a collision between both countries arising out of any 
sudden and perhaps unauthorized aggression on the part of 
the local authorities of Venezuela, whether committed by con- 
structing forts, or by occupying and encroaching upon the ter- 
ritory in dispute. 

Her Majestj^'s Government, as above stated, will not order 
or sanction such occupations or encroachments on the part of 
the British authorities; and if at any time there should be any 
error about their determination in this respect, the undersigned 
is persuaded that they would willingly renew their orders on 
the subject : he is then satisfied that, in accordance with the 
friendly suggestions of Her Majesty's Government, the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela will not hesitate to send to the Vene- 
zuelan authorities positive orders to refrain from taking meas- 
ures which the British authorities may justly consider as 
aggressions. 



37 



On the 14th and 15th ultimo the undersigned communicated 
privately, to Mr. Vicente Lecuna and to His Excellency the 
President the instructions which Viscount Palmerston had given 
him, and then he explained fully the friendly considerations 
which had prompted him not to communicate their contents to 
the Venezuelan Government when he received them on the 
1 8th of last July, and to continue to put off their formal com- 
munication in writing till a fitting opportunity presented itself. 

It seems that both His Excellency the President and Mr. 
Lecuna appreciated in all its value the friendliness of this pro- 
ceeding. 

However, being of the opinion, agreed upon in the inter- 
views which he held with Mr. Lecuna on the 15th and i6th 
instant, that the opportune moment for making that commu- 
nication has arrived, he has lost no time to state those instruc- 
tions in this note. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to 
Mr. Lecuna the assurances of his distinguished consideration. 

(Signed) Belford Hinton Wilson. 



Reply to the foregoing by Senor Vicente Lecuna^ Ve?iezuela?i Mi?iis- 
ter of Foreign Affairs : 

[Translation.] 

Republic of Venezuela. 
Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Caracas, December 20th, 1850. 

The undersigned. Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Vene- 
zuela has had the honor of receiving and presenting to the 
Executive power the note of the Charge d' Affaires of H. B- 
M., dated on the i8th ultimo, the object of which is to contra- 
dict the rumors which have spread in Venezuela with reference 
to Great Britain's intention of taking possession of Venezuelan 
Guiana, stating the steps which he has taken to that effect, and 
of which he has advised the Government; declaring, in the 
name of his Government, that the latter has no intention what- 



38 



ever of occupying or encroaching upon the territory in dispute 
between the two countries, and he requests a similar declara- 
tion from the Venezuelan Government, asking them to instruct 
their authorities iii Guiana not to take any measures which 
might be justly considered as aggressive by the British author- 
ities, and stating the reasons that had induced him to delay 
making this communication. 

The undersigned has been instructed by His Excellency the 
President of the Republic to give the following answer: The 
Government never could be persuaded that Great Britain, in 
contempt of the negotiation opened on the subject and the 
alleged rights in the question of limits pending between the 
two countries, would want to use force in order to occupy the 
land that each side claims: much less after Mr. Wilson's re- 
peated assurance, which the Executive power believes to have 
been most sincere, that those imputations had no foundation 
whatever, being on the contrary quite the reverse of the truth.. 
Fully confident of this, and fortified by the protest embodied 
in the note referred to, the Government has no difficulty in 
declaring, as they do declare, that Venezuela has no intention 
of occupying or encroaching upon any portion of the territory,, 
the possession of w^hich is in controversy ; neither will she look 
with indifference upon a contrary proceeding on the part 
of Great Britain. They w^ill furthermore instruct the authori- 
ties of Guiana to refrain from taking any steps which might 
clash with the engagement hereby made by the Government, 
and might give rise to fatal consequences, as Mr. Wilson 
affirms has been done, and in case of need will be willingly 
done again with regard to the authorities in British Guiana. 
In conclusion, I may add that the Government fully appreciates 
the motives which have led Mr. Wilson to abstain from at 
once carrying out the instructions which he has received on 
the subject. 

The undersigned seizes this opportunity to renew to Mr. 
Wilson the assurances of his distinguished consideration. 

(Signed) Vicente Lecuna. 

To Mr. Belford Hinton Wilson, H. B. M. Charge d' Affaires, etc., etc. 



39 



PART V. 
Dr. Calcaiio to Earl Derby. 

[Translation.] 

Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Caracas, November 14, 1876. 

The undersigned, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United 
States of Venezuela, has been instructed by the President 
of the Republic, to communicate with His Excellency, the 
Earl of Derby, Her Britannic Majesty's Prime Minister and Sec- 
retary of State for the Department of Foreign Affairs, and 
to set forth to His Excellency the rights of the Republic 
in the now pending question of boundaries between Vene- 
zuelan Guiana and British Guiana. The undersigned hastens 
to carry out said instructions, first stating to His Excel- 
lency, the Earl of Derby, that the President of Venezuela 
is impelled to no longer delay the negotiations he to-day 
initiates, both by his zeal for the interests of the Nation 
and by his confidence in the cordial feelings of friend- 
ship of Great Britain, and the favorable inclination of His Ex- 
cellency to preserve unaltered the harmonious relations now 
existing between the two countries ; the President being con- 
fident that, in view of these feelings, a prompt settlement of 
these questions will be arrived at which it is urgent to solve 
in a satisfactory manner, so as not to leave exposed to dan- 
gerous contingencies in the future, the peace which has so far 
been happily preserved through the sincere friendship of the 
two nations. 

From the year 1841 to 1844, the Government had already 
undertaken the interesting task of amicably settling the limits 
between Venezuela and the British possessions in Guiana, which 
negotiations had their origin in the fact of the invasion of the 
Venezuelan territory by the British Commissioner, Mr. Schom- 
burgk, who set up posts, placed monograms, and hoisted the 



40 



British flag upon the dominion of the Republic, when he had 
only been commissioned to make scientific explorations in 
order to ascertain the limits of British Guiana. Prompted by 
the feelings of justice which distinguish Her Majesty's 
Government, upon the protestation of Venezuela, they ordered 
the removal of the posts and other marks which had so justly 
alarmed the Venezuelan people. The necessity was understood 
then of guarding against ulterior difficulties by means of a final 
treaty on limits, the negotiations for which were unfortunately 
not completed at the time, owing to the regrettable demise of 
the Venezuelan Plenipotentiary in London, Doctor Alejo 
Fortique. 

It is with the purpose of resuming those negotiations, and 
being naturally convinced of the favorable inclinations of Her 
British Majesty's Government, since it was the originator of 
the question at the time referred to by the undersigned, that 
the President of the Republic has instructed this Department 
to make the followino^ statements to that so ably conducted by 
His Excellency. 

The right of Spain over the territory of America which she 
had discovered and occupied before any other power, was 
always indisputably recognized b}' all the nations of the world. 
These are titles which have been universally accepted as proof 
of dominion, and they are at least equally as effectual as those 
that may be considered b}^ International Law as the best. 
Thus it is, that there never was an instance of a voice having 
been raised to discuss Spain's rights over these regions ; on 
the contrary, they were sanctioned by the recognition, express 
on the part of some and tacit on the part of others, and in their 
favor she might even allege the bull of Pope Alexander VI., 
which, being at the time decidedly significant, to-day implies 
at least a new and valuable recognition. And if, in applying 
these reasons of the Spanish dominion over the whole Ameri- 
can territor}', to the coasts of Guiana, which are the subject of 
this question, the notable circumstance is borne in mind, that 
said coasts were the very first that Columbus struck on the 
American Continent ; that it was there that Alonzo de Ojeda 



41 



commenced the discovery and the conquest of Venezuela ; that 
it was the government of these lands that was given to Diego de 
Ordaz by the Emperor Charles V., and that they were the 
object of the expeditions of the aforesaid Ordaz, and of Her- 
rera, Hortal, Cedeno, and other Spaniards, there is no possible 
hesitation in acknowledging the rights which Spain had at the 
time over those vast regions, and which Venezuela to-day has 
as her legitimate successor. 

The spirit of hostility against Spain, which prevailed among 
her enemies who were engaged in the European wars of that 
period, combined with the covetousness which was awakened 
by the narratives that were made of the immense auriferous 
wealth of the new continent, were the causes of the attacks 
against and the invasion of these regions, which were as- 
saulted, burnt up, and possessed de facto by those who had no 
other character than that of spoliators against all recognized 
principles, and who did not even 'have in their favor the toler- 
ance of Spain, who was compelled to drive them away more 
than once, destroying their intrusive establishments, in so far 
as she was permitted to do so by the grave affairs which occu- 
pied her attention in Europe. Thus it was that in 1595 she 
drove the Dutch away from the Essequibo, and that in 1665 
the inhabitants of the second city of Santo Tomas, aided by 
those of the province of Caracas, drove away from that city 
the same Dutchmen who had succeeded in surprising them, 
aided by their allies the Caribbean and the Araucan Indians. 

Spain, however, enforced her right as discoverer and first 
occupant, by founding towns and establishing missions, in 
order to civilize the natives and to preach the Gospel to them. 
It may be remarked here that England herself concluded sev- 
eral treaties with Spain, by which she tacitly recognized those 
rights, and even bound herself in 171 3 and 1721 to maintain 
Spain in the possession of the territories that she owned in the 
time of Charles IL, and which were none others than the 
greater part of the New Continent. 

If the whole of the American territory was not under the 
dominion of Spain at the time when the treaty of Miinster was 



42 



concluded, it was not because the invasions effected and the 
establishments founded in some parts of it bv other Europeaa 
nations deprived H. C. of his rights, but because Spain 
sanctioned that proprietorship which thev assumed, bv treaties 
in which she expressly renounced her own. 

The original right of Spain to the whole American territory 
being based upon such solid grounds, it is the duty of any one 
contesting an}' part of it, to produce authentic proof of his 
supervening proprietorship, which would establish an excep- 
tion to what is general. 

At all events, Venezuela, who is the legitimate successor to 
all the rights of Spain over the regions of Guiana, as England 
is the successor of Holland to the Cape of Good Hope, Es- 
sequibo, Berbice and Demerara. bv the treatv of London and 
Paris of 13th of August, 18 14, has the right to call hers the 
possessions which Holland, the constituent of Great Britain, 
had recognized as the latter's property by the treaty of Miin- 
ster concluded in 1648, and which England bound herself to 
leave integrally to Spain bv article 8 of the treaty of Utrecht, 
which these two nations concluded on the 13th of July, 1 71 3, 
as neither could cede to England what was not hers and she 
knew not to be hers; nor can it be supposed, without giving" 
an offense, of which Venezuela is incapable, that the grave and 
honorable English nation can in any manner or at any time 
break her word and infringe the duty imposed upon her by 
her stipulations. 

By the treaty of ]\Iunster, cited in the first place, bv which 
Philip IV. recognized the freedom, the independence, and the 
sovereignty of the United Provinces and renounced all his 
rights over them, it was agreed that the contracting parties 
should remain in possession of the countries, strongholds, set- 
tlements, etc., which they occupied in the East and the West 
Indies; that the Spaniards should enjoy the privileges which 
they possessed in the East Indies without being allowed to 
exceed them, and that the subjects of the States-General 
should refrain from visiting the places where the Castilians 
were established. That the Spaniards and the subjects of the 



43 



United Provinces, respectively, might not navigate nor trade in 
the bays, ports, or places having fortresses, lodgings, and 
castles, and generally in any place which either party might 
possess in the West Indies. Such is the context of articles 5 
and 6. 

The express tenor of article 8 of the treaty of Utrecht, cited 
in the second place, is as follows: 

And in order that the navigation and commerce of the 
West Indies shall be more firmly and amply established, it has 
been agreed that neither the Catholic King nor his heirs can 
either sell, cede, mortgage, or transfer to the French, or to any 
other nation, any lands, dominions, or territories of America, 
or any part thereof, or alienate it from themselves or from the 
Crown of Spain. And on her side, in order that the domin- 
ions of Spanish-America be preserved in a greater entirety, 
the Queen of Great Britain promises that she will ask from 
and give assistance to the Spaniards, in order to re-establish 
and fix the former limits of their dominions in America as 
they were in the time of the aforesaid Catholic King Charles 
II. should they in any manner or under any pretext have 
undergone any dismemberment after the death of the afore- 
said Catholic King Charles II." 

Now, the limits, as far as to where the possessions of Hol- 
land in the territory of Guiana extended in 1648, the date of 
the treaty of Miinster, are the only ones which this nation 
could have transferred to England, because, after that date, 
the Dutch dominions in the American territory were not 
extended by any concession, sale, or recognition of any kind 
on the part of Spain. And the limits which belonged to Spain 
at the time of the death of King Charles II., which occurred in 
1700, are the same which England bound herself to leave 
integrally to her, and even to aid her in recovering them, 
should they have undergone any dismemberment. 

What then were their limits? This is the most important 
point to investigate in order to fully illustrate the matter and 
to definitively fix the respective rights of both countries in 
this question. 



44 



The undersigned will not stop to enlarge on the merits of 
the respectable testimony of Herrera, the famous chronicler of 
Spain and India, whose decades were written during the reign 
of Philip v., nor on that of Father Pedro Murillo Velarde, who 
wrote in 1752; these authors, agreeing with others of the period, 
unanimously attribute to Spain the proprietorship of the whole 
of Guiana; nor on that of the public treaty concluded between 
Spain and Portugal, by which both nations bound themseh es 
to aid and assist each other until they should be left in the 
peaceful possession of their dominions in South America, 
the obligation of Portugal extending from the Amazon or 
^Nlaranon to the banks of the Orinoco riyer on both sides; 
nor on that of the Royal Decree issued at Aranjuez on the 
8th of March, 1768. in which, recalling the original limits of 
-Spanish Guiana, it is stated that they extended as far as the 
Amazon on the South and on the East as far as the Atlantic 
Ocean. The undersigned, prompted by the cordial desire of 
the President of the Republic to place the question on the 
most fayorable footing for Great Britain within the circle of 
the rights of Venezuela, and in order that the amicable settle- 
ment to which he aspires be more propitious to her without 
impairing the eyident justice of the claims of the Republic, 
confines himself to quotations from authorities which most re- 
strict our dominion in the region of Guiana, proyided that they 
are in any reasonable or serious manner descrying of attention. 

Obserying this line of conduct, we find that all the documents 
and citations of that kind, which are the least fayorable to the 
rights of Venezuela, fix, as the most adyanced limit of the Dutch 
possessions, the riyer Essequibo. which separated Venezuela 
from the Dutch possessions in Guiana. The maps published in 
England, in France, and in Spain, the opinions of geographers 
and historians, and the official acts of the goyernment of the 
Peninsula, all proye the truth of this statement. 

The learned La Condamine writes: "Dutch Guiana commences 
at the riyer Marawine and ends at the Essequibo; to Spanish 
Guiana is left the country comprised between the Essequibo, 
Ayhere the Dutch colony ends, and the Orinoco." 



45 



J. W. Norie, an English geographer, in his Chart of the Coast 
of Guiana printed in London in the year 1828, expresses him- 
self in the following terms: 

" British Guiana extends from the river Courani towards the 
northwest as far as the Essequibo." And he adds: ''This was 
the true extent of the colony, which was settled between the 
Spaniards and the Dutch by the treaty of Miinster, 1648, zvhich 
has never since been abrogated ; but the English and Dutch owners 
of plantations having formed establishments north of these 
limits and established themselves on the banks of the Poumaron 
and beyond Cape Nassau, the limits claimed by the English ex- 
tend now as far as the meridian of Cape Barima, though this, in 
reality, constitutes what should be called Spanish or Colombian 
Guiana." 

Father Caulin, in his " Chorographical History of New Anda- 
lusia," Book 3, chap. 31, corroborates the assertion of Norie in 
the following words: ''The Dutch possessed themselves of the 
river Essequibo, established colonies, and founded towns and 
plantations, at the same time that they carried on an unlawful 
trade, until they were driven away from there in 1595; but they 
returned later, spreadi7ig tJiemselves upon the Spanish territory, 
until they founded New Middleburg on the river Poumaron." 

J. de Alcala, in his Manual of Geography printed in London 
in 1837, states, even at that date and referring to British Guiana, 
that " on the shores of the Essequibo is the establishment of 
the same name belonging to England." 

The Columbian historian, Jose Maria Restrepo, in explaining 
the atlas which accompanies his History of the Revolution of 
the Republic of Colombia, employs the following significant 
words: "Those (the limits) of the British Guiana to-day have 
been marked in accordance with the possessions formerly held 
by Spain as far as the Essequibo river, which are marked in 
the best maps published in England itself." 

The following quotation of Reynal, in his Philosophical His- 
tory of the Two Indies, vol. 6, book 12, No. 95, pages 282 and 
following, Paris edition of 1820, is worthy of special attention: 

"The colony of Essequibo, situated near the river of the 



46 



same name, is distant twenty leagues from that of Berbice. It 
was here that the Dutch first established themselves when, like 
other Europeans, they flocked to Guiana at the close of the 
sixteenth century, in the hope of finding gold. It is not known 
at what time they established themselves at Essequibo, although 
it has been proved that the Spaniards drove them away from 
there in 1595. Thev returned, but were again driven awav by 
the English in 1666. This establishment was an unimportant 
one, and in 1 740, after it was retaken, its products scarcelv con- 
stituted the cargo of a ship. Two or three years later some 
colonists of Essequibo fixed their eyes upon the neighboring 
shores of Demerara, which turned out to be very fertile, and 
this discoverv was followed by very favorable consequences. 
After a time work was suspended at Surinam on account of 
the sanguinarv and ruinous war which they had to wage against 
the negroes who had taken refuge in the woods. Berbice 
was at the same time perturbed by the rebellion of the slaves. 
This was the origin of the ' three colonies which the Dutch 
successfully established in Guiana." 

From this historical statement of Reynal it may be seen that 
in 1648, the date of the treaty of Miinster, the Dutch had 
been driven away, even from the Essequibo, and that it was 
two years after 1740, that is to say, forty-tw^o years after the 
death of King Charles II., that some colonists of the Essequibo 
fixed their attention upon the neighboring shores of Demerara. 

"I do not believe," says Mr. Dauxion-Lavavsse, ''that there 
is in the world a country healthier, better watered, more fer- 
tile, and more agreeable to live in than the one situated, on one 
side, between the Essequibo, and on the other, between the 
Caroni and Orinoco. This country, zvhich forms a considerable 
part of Spanisli Gina?ia, measures more than forty-five leagues' 
from north to south, and seventv from east to west, and its ex- 
tent forms one-sixth of this Guiana." 

It w^as in this country that Spain established her numerous 
missions, which, according to the testimony of all the histo- 
rians who have concerned themselves with the work of the 
Franciscan Fathers, and to the demarcations contained in the 



47 



royal decree regarding the creation of missions, embraced at 
Rio Negro an extent of more than fifty leagues; while the 
Capuchin Fathers occupied the space situated between the 
Orinoco and Cape Nassau, and between the sea and the river 
Caroni; extending from the eastern shores of the latter and of 
the Paraguay to the banks of the Imataca, of the Cumuru, and 
of the Cuyuni. On the southwest they bordered upon Dutch 
Guiana, or Colony of Essequibo, this river being the dividing line 
on the south, together with the deserted shores of the Paraguay 
and Paraguari, and crossing the Pacaraima chain, with the Por- 
tuguese colonies of the Rio Branco. 

On this point, the resistance which was continually made by 
the Government of the Spanish Peninsula against the invasions 
of the Dutch on the western shore of the Essequibo, long after 
the treaty of Miinster, is a decisive proof. This may be 
seen in the instructions which the Intendant of Caracas, Don 
Jose de Abalos, issued on the 4th of February, 1779, by which 
he established rules for the populating of the Province of 
Guiana, with the object of insuring the limits of that territory. 
Article 2 of said instructions is as follows: *'The aforesaid 
Colony of Essequibo and others, which the States-General 
possess on that coast, are generally all in the neighborhood of 
the sea, not reaching far into the interior of the country, and for 
that reason the land situated at the back of the Essequibo and 
of the Dutch colonies on the east as far as French Guiana, 
and on the south as far as the river Amazon, are free of a por- 
tion of them, and occupied only by gentile Indians and a large 
number of runaway negroes, slaves of the Dutch, and also of 
the plantations of French Guiana. The commissioners shall 
endeavor, therefore, to occupy said lands, as being the prop- 
erty of Spain, the first discoverer thereof, and^not having been 
ceded since to, nor being now occupied by, any other power, 
none having any right thereto; they shall advance in the occu- 
pation on the eastern part as far as possible until they reach 
French Guiana, and extending it also as far as possible on the 
southern side, until they reach the boundaries of the crown of 
Portugal." Article 4 of the instructions says: " It would be very 



48 



convenient if the aforesaid occupation of lands and the popu- 
lating thereof commenced at the back of the Dutch establish- 
ments in the neighborhood of French Guiana, and more espe- 
cially of the rivers which have been named Oyapok and 
Aprovak." This part of the instructions which have been here 
reproduced was further enforced by the confirmation they re- 
ceived through a royal decree dated 13th of April, 1779. 

The conviction of the Government of the Peninsula is still 
more explicit, if possible, regarding its dominion over the ter- 
ritory comprised between the Orinoco and the Essequibo, and 
its constant resistance is more energetic against the attempted 
invasion of the Dutch in the secret royal decree of ist of 
October, 1780, by which the officer of the Spanish navy, Don 
Jose Felipe de Inciarte, was commissioned to attack a fort 
which the Dutch had dared to erect on the shores of the river 
Moruca (Moroco), at a distance of from two and one-half to 
three leagues from Cano Moracabuco, on the northeast quarter 
east, which had been denounced on the preceding year by In- 
ciarte himself. On giving him his instructions, the minister, 
Don Jose Galvez, wrote the following words in the royal decree: 
" It being understood that if the Director-General or Governor 
of Essequibo should complain, answer shall be given that these 
proceedings are taken in conformity with the general laws and 
instructions given for the better government of our Indies, 
which do not allow of such intrusion of foreigners upon the 
Spanish dominions, such as they are; which same answer shall 
be given here if the States-General of Holland should make 
any complaint or claim." 

Thus far I have developed the strict, authentic, and indis- 
putable demonstration, not only of the right, but of the act 
by which Spain legitimately possessed, as sole sovereign and 
up to 1779, all the territories extending from the Orinoco to 
the river Essequibo; and if, as the undersigned has stated 
above, it sufficed to know which were the Spanish possessions 
that Holland, the constituent of Great Britain, recognized as 
the property of the Peninsula, the proof has been more than 



49 



sufficient since it has been brought to one and one-third cen- 
turies later. 

And if the Essequibo was still the limit between the domin- 
ions of both nations in 1779, it was so, with more reason, in 
1648, and it is evident that it was also in 1700, the year of the 
death of Charles II., to which the obligation of Great Britain 
refers, which she contracted in the treaty of 171 3, to which 
the undersigned has referred. 

But there is something more decisive, of an insurmountable 
probatory force, as being taken from the mutual testimony of 
both parties, of Spain and of Holland, in the convention which 
they signed at Aranjuez on the 23d of June, 1 791, to mutually 
return to each other the deserters and runaways from their re- 
spective American colonies. Its article ist is of the following 
tenor: 

•'The reciprocal restitution of white or black runaways is estab- 
lished between all the Spanish possessions in America and the 
Dutch colonies, especially between those in which the complaints 
of desertion have been more frequent, to wit : between Porto- 
Rico and Saint Eustace, Coro and Curacao, the Spanish estab- 
lishments on the Orinoco and Essequibo, Demarara, Berbice 
and Surinam." By which it is clearly expressed that, as Porto- 
Rico is Spanish and Sai7it Eustace Dutch, Coro Spanish and 
Curacao Dutch, so are all the territories as far as the Orinoco 
Spanish. How far ? As far as the other extremity which 
designates what is Dutch, to wit, as far as the Essequibo, Berbice, 
and Suri7iam. Here we have it established by Holland herself 
that her limits with Spain did not reach to the west, only as 
far as the river Essequibo, which has been mentioned so often. 
And if this was still true one hundred and forty-three years 
later, was it not more so one hundred and forty-three years 
before; that is to say, on the date of the treaty of Miinster, 
and also nearly one century before, at the date of the death of 
Charles II. ? 

Any posterior occupation of a territory, which has not re- 
spected this right, would be an infringement of all laws and 
carried out in manifest violation of the treaties made in good 



50 



faith by the nations, guarded by the honor itself of the coun- 
tries which made them and which constitute the most obliga- 
tory law recognized in all their acts and relations by the gov- 
-ernments of the civilized world. Usurpations of this kind, 
far from serving as a subject for an argument of prescription 
which would be untenable and absurd, firstly, because it is not 
admitted among nations, and, secondly, because even in civil 
law it would lack all the conditions required by its validity, 
would, on the contrary, present a fertile subject for claims 
against serious offenses, or at least for complaints, fully justi- 
fied to which it is not prudent to give rise when friendship is 
sincere and the desired harmony exists. 

This solid ground, upon which Venezuela bases her right to 
place the limits of her possessions at the mouth of the river 
Essequibo, and the well-founded confidence of the President 
of the Republic in the austere feeling of justice which is char- 
acteristic of the Government of H. M. the Queen of Great 
Britain, lead him to hope that the solution of this question, 
which has been delayed for so many years, will be the work 
of a most prompt and cordial settlement. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to assure , 
His Excellency, the Earl of Derby, of his highest considera- 
tion. 

Eduardo Calcano. 

To His Excellency the Earl of Derby, H. B. Majesty's Prime Minister and Secretary 
of State in the Department of Foreign Affairs. 



51 



PART VI. 
Lord Salisbury to Dr. Rojas. 

Foreign Office, January lo, 1880. 

Monsieur le Mi?iistre : 

. With reference to my letters of the 2d and 4th of June last, 
I have the honor to state that Her Majesty's Government have 
had under their consideration your two letters of the 19th of 
May, one relating to the boundary between Venezuela and 
British Guiana, the other to the claim put forward by Vene- 
zuela to the Island of Patos, which is held by Great Britain as 
a dependency of the Colony of Trinidad. 

With regard to the first of these questions, I have the honor 
to state that Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that to 
argue the matter on the ground of strict right would involve 
so many intricate questions connected with the original dis- 
covery and settlement of the country, and subsequent con- 
quests, cessions, and treaties, that it would be very unlikely to 
lead to a satisfactory solution of the question ; and Her Maj- 
esty's Government would therefore prefer the alternative course 
suggested by you of endeavoring to come to an agreement 
with the Government of Venezuela as to the acceptance by the 
two Governments of a frontier of accommodation, which shall 
satisfy the respective interests of the two countries. 

The boundary which Her Majesty's Government claim, in 
virtue of ancient treaties with the aboriginal tribes and of subse- 
quent cessions from Holland, commences at a point at the 
mouth of the Orinoco westward of Point Barima, proceeds 
thence in a southerly direction to the Imataca mountains, the 
line of which it follows to the northwest, passing from them 
by the highlands of Santa Maria, just south of the town of 
Upata, until it strikes a range of hills on the eastern bank of 
the Caroni River, following these southwards until it strikes 
the great backbone of the Guiana district, the Roraima moun- 



52 



tains of British Guiana, and thence still southward to the 
Pacaraima mountains. 

On the other hand, His Excellency General Guzman Blanco,. 
President of the Republic of Venezuela, in his Message to the 
National Congress of February 20, 1877, put forward a claim 
on the part of Venezuela to the River Essequibo as the boun- 
dary to which the Republic was justly entitled — a boundary, I 
may observe, which would involve the surrender of a province 
now inhabited bv 40,000 British subjects and which has been 
in the uninterrupted possession of Holland and Great Britain 
successively for two centuries. 

The difference therefore between these two claims. Mon- 
sieur le Ministre, is so great that it is clear that, in order to 
arrive at a satisfactory arrangement, each party must be pre- 
pared to make very considerable concessions to the other; and 
although the claim of Venezuela to the Essequibo River boun- 
darv could not under anv circumstances be entertained, I beg 
leave to assure vou that Her Majestv's Government are anx- 
ious to meet the Venezuelan Government in a spirit of concil- 
iation, and would be willing, in the event of a renewal of 
negotiations for the general settlement of boundaries, to waive 
a portion of what thev consider to be their strict rights, if 
Venezuela is reallv disposed to make corresponding conces- 
sions on her part. 

Her ]\Iajestv's Government will therefore be glad to receive 
and will undertake to consider in the most friendly spirit any 
proposal that the Venezuelan Government may think fit to 
make for the establishment of a boundarv satisfactorv to both 
nations. 

As regards the question to which vour second letter relates, 
^Monsieur le Ministre, I have the honor to state that in view 
of the fact that the Island of Patos has been held bv Great 
Britain as a dependencv of the Colonv of Trinidad since 1797 
and that the British title to it was not questioned by Venezuela 
until 1859, Her Majesty's Government consider that apart 
from all other grounds, so long a term of undisputed possession 
confers upon Great Britain an indefeasible title to the island.. 



53 



I have the honor to be with the highest consideration 
Monsieur le Ministre, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Sefior de Rojas. SALISBURY. 

Same to Same. 

Foreign Office, April 23, 1880. 

Monsieur le Ministre : 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
of the 1 2th instant upon the subject of the boundary between 
Venezuela and British Guiana, and also of your letter of the 
14th ultimo, relative to the claim of Venezuela to the Island 
of Patos. 

In reply I beg leave to state that the Attorney-General for 
the Colony of British Guiana is shortly expected in this coun- 
try, and that Her Majesty's Government would prefer to post- 
pone the discussion of these questions until the arrival of that 
officer. 

I have the honor to be with the highest consideration. Mon- 
sieur le Ministre, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Salisbury. 

Senor Don J. M. de Rojas, etc., etc. 

Dr. Rojas to Earl Grariville. 

[Translation.] 

Legation of the United States of Venezuela. 

Paris, September 27, 1880. 

37 Rue de la Bienfaisance. 

My Lord: 

Your Excellency's predecessor, under date of April 23d ul- 
timo, did me the honor to inform me that in order to solve the 
question of boundaries between the two Guianas and also the 
one relative to the Island of Patos, Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government were expecting the arrival at London of the At- 
torney-General for the British Colony, who was to come in a 
few days. Five months having elapsed, and as your Excel- 



54 



lency has not honored me with any communication upon these 
subjects, I must suppose that said Attorney-General has not 
realized his intended voyage, and this being the case, it would 
be useless to wait for him any longer. 

I deem it conducive to remind Your Lordship that on the 
24th of March, 1877, the Honorable Lord Derby, your Ex- 
cellency's predecessor, informed me that as the arrival of the 
Governor of the British Colony was expected about that time. 
Her Majesty's Government then preferred to postpone the ad- 
justment o£ these questions until the arrival of said official, 
who, it seems, never came, as no communication informing me 
of his arrival there was ever sent me, as promised. 

It will be more judicious, therefore, not to wait any longer, 
either for the Governor or for the Attorney-General for the 
Colony, and to adjust these questions between ourselves, taking 
into consideration the fact that my Government at the present 
time is engaged in the preparation of an official map of the 
Republic and wishes, as is but natural, to fix the eastern 
limits of the country. 

In my communication of the 12th of April last, I informed 
Your Excellency that my Government was disposed to accept, 
on the basis of an amicable compromise, the mouth of the 
Moroco river as the limit of the coast. If Her Majesty's 
Government accepts this starting point, it would be very easy 
to determine the general direction or course of the frontier, 
either through the means of a correspondence or by verbal 
intercourse, as Your Excellency may prefer. 

In reference to the Island of Patos, I must hope that my 
communication of the 14th of April last will have con- 
vinced Your Excellency of the necessity of submitting this 
matter to the decision of an arbitrator, and upon this ground 
I take the liberty to ask Your Excellency whether the appoint- 
ment of the arbitrator can now be made. 

I have the honor to subscribe myself. Your Excellency^ 
with sentiments of the highest consideration. 

My Lord, your humble and obedient servant, 

(Signed) J. M. de Rojas. 

To His Excellency the Earl of Granville, etc., etc., etc. 



i 55 



Earl Granville to Dr. Rojas. 

Foreign Office, February 12th, 1881. 

Monsieur le Ministre : 

Her Majesty's Government have had under their considera- 
tion the desire expressed in your letters of the 12th of April 
and 27th of September last to reconsider the question of the 
boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, and stating- 
that your Government would be willing to accept the mouth 
of the river Moroco as the boundary on the coast. 

I have now the honor to inform you that Her Majesty's 
Government are unable to accept the mouth of the Moroco as 
the boundarv on the coast. They would nevertheless be 
ready to consider any conventional boundary which the Ven- 
ezuelan Government may propose, commencing at a more 
northerly point on the coast, and would be glad to be favored 
with a general indication of their views, not only on that 
point, but also as to the general line of frontier which in their 
opinion might form a basis of negotiations. 

I have the honor to be with the highest consideration. Mon- 
sieur le Ministre, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Granville. 

Senor Don J. M. de Rojas, etc., etc. 



Dr. Rojas to Earl Gra?iville. 
[Translation.] 

Legation of the United States of Venezuela. 

Paris, February 21, 1 88 1. 

My Lord: 

I have had the honor to receive Your Excellency's dispatch 
of 1 2th inst. referring to the most important question of limits 
between Venezuelan Guiana and British Guiana. This is. a 
question which my Government always has been anxious to 
have adjusted and with which it has seriously concerned itself 
during the past forty-one years without, however, obtaining 
any practical results. , . .\ :. ,„r:.r:.. . . 



56 



Your Excellency will permit me to make in the present 
communication a summary statement of the true state of the 
question which I am about to treat of. 

* This question can only be considered under two phases: 
Either a treaty must be concluded between the two countries 
fixing in a friendly and cordial manner an accommodation 
and mutually convenient frontier; or it must be adjusted in 
accordance with the principles of universal law and with the 
titles which each side may present. In the latter case the 
frontier will be a consequence of the rights which either party 
may establish. 

Her Britaimic Majesty's Government claim in the event of 
the latter extremity of the foregoing dilemma the following 
frontier, judging from the dispatch which Your Excellency 
was pleased to address to me on the lOth of January, 1880: 
The mouths of the Orinoco as a starting point west of Point 
Barima in a southerly direction towards the Imataca moun- 
tains, which line would continue towards the northwest pass- 
ing through the high lands of Santa Maria exactly south of 
the city of Upata, as far as the foot of the mountains on the 
eastern shore of the Caroni river; continuing thence south- 
wards until it meets the Roraima mountains in British Guiana, 
and thence still further south, stopping at the Pacaraima chain. 

The Venezuelan Government maintains, in view of the titles, 
documents, and official maps and of all the proofs more or 
less irrefutable at law, which it will in its turn adduce, that the 
frontier between the two Guianas commences at the mouths of 
the Essequibo river, up said river as far as its confluence with 
the Rupumini and Rewa rivers to the eastern extremity of 
the Pacaraima chain, and that therefore all the immense terri- 
tory to-day occupied by Her Britannic Majesty's Government 
within said limits belongs to Venezuela. 

It was agreed between the two Governments that, in order 
to avoid any delay in this important question, the demarca- 
tion of an accommodation frontier satisfactory to the interests 
of both countries should be proceeded to. In fulfillment of 
this promise, I had the honor of proposing to Your Excellency 



57 



to designate the Moroco river as the starting point from the 
coast. The remainder of the frontier, when once said point 
had been fixed upon, would be a matter of secondary consid- 
eration. 

When this question was seriously discussed in 1844 the 
Honorable Lord Aberdeen proposed to my predecessor in 
London the following frontier: As a starting point at the 
coast the mouth of the Moroco river at the point where the 
Barama river joins the Guaima; thence through the Barama 
up the river as far as Aunama in order to ascend through it 
to the Acarabisi, descending through the latter as far as its 
confluence with the Cuyuni, and up the latter river as far as 
the high lands of Mount Roraima, where the waters which 
pour into the Essequibo part from those which pour into the 
Rio Branco. It was therefore thirty-seven years ago that 
Her Majesty's Government spontaneously proposed the mouths 
of the Moroco as the limit on the coast, a limit which Your 
Excellency will not accept to-day as you are pleased to say 
in the dispatch to which I now have the honor to reply. 

The Venezuelan Government moved by the desire to pre- 
serve unaltered the relations of cordial friendship at present 
happily existing between the two nations, now propose the 
following conciliatory frontier as a mutually convenient one 
in order to finally settle this question by means of a treaty; 
and in order to prove the sincerity of these feelings they will 
accept a starting point of the frontier on the coast, one mile 
northwards of the mouths of the Moroco. There a post shall 
be placed which shall indicate the true limit between the two 
countries on the coast. At said point a meridian of latitude 
shall be drawn westward until the point at which this line 
shall cross the longitude of sixty degrees of Greenwich and 
thence it shall continue southward through said meridian of 
longitude as far as the boundaries of both countries. This 
demarcation has the advantage of being precise and unaltera- 
ble and is the greatest of all the concessions which the Ven- 
ezuelan Government can make in this matter in order to come 
±0 a friendly understanding. 



58 



If Her British ^Majesty's Government do not think it con- 
venient to accept this proposed demarcation, there is thea 
nothing left for both Governments but resort to the deter- 
mination of a strictly legal frontier. And as in case such a 
contingency should arise, the two Governments would be unable 
to come to a mutual agreement, as the titles adduced by one 
would be rejected by the other and each would endeavor to 
demonstrate the wrong of its adversary, a mutual agreement 
between both countries would be absolutely necessary in order 
to submit the decision of this important matter to arbitration 
or to a tribunal which would pronounce a final award. I have 
therefore received instructions from my Government to urge 
Her Britannic ^Majesty's Government to refer the question to an 
arbitrator selected by both parties and to whose decision both 
Governments shall submit. This same arbitrator should de- 
cide whether the Island of Patos belongs to Venezuela or to- 
Her Britannic Majesty's Government. 

In view of the importance of this matter and of the con- 
venience for both countries to adjust it in a final manner, I 
beg Your Excellency to honor me with a reply as soon as 
possible, and meanwhile I have the honor to sign myself with 
highest consideration Your Excellency's most obedient, hum- 
ble servant. 

(Signed) J. AI. de Rojas. 

To His Excellency Earl Granville, Her British Majesty's Secretary for Foreign 
Affairs, London. 



Earl Granville to Dr. Rojas. 

Foreign Office, September 15, 1881. 

Monsieur le Mijiistre : 

Her [Majesty's Government have carefully considered the 
proposals contained in your letter of the 2 1st of February last 
for the settlement of the question of the boundary limits be- 
tween the Colony of British Guiana and Venezuela. 

In reply I have now the honor to state to you that they regret 
that they are unable to accept the line of demarcation indi- 
cated in that letter as a satisfactory solution of the question. 



59 



Thev are, however, anxious to meet the views of the Vene- 
zuelan Government fairly and with this object they are pre- 
pared to agree to the line suggested in the accompanying" 
memorandum, which will leave to Venezuela the complete 
control of the mouths of the Orinoco, whilst it will furnish a 
convenient boundary in the interior conforming to the natural 
features of the country. 

In proposing a line which makes so important a concession 
to Venezuela, Her Majesty's Government desire to explain 
that they must not in any way be understood as admitting that 
they have not a rightful claim to the line which extends to the 
mouths of the Orinoco, and that the proposal is only made 
from a sincere desire to bring to a conclusion a question which 
has too long- remained unsettled to the detriment of the in- 

o 

terests of both countries. 

A map which has been drawn up after Schomburgk original 
is enclosed herewith, showing the exact position of the boun- 
dary proposed in the accompanying memorandum; and I may 
observe that the whole of the line, except that portion which 
lies between the source of the Amacuro and the seacoast, was 
surveyed bv Schomburgk as far back as 1837. 

In conclusion, I have the honor to state that Her Majesty's 
Government will be happy to confer with you personally, 
should you think it desirable to communicate with them in 
that manner for the purpose of discussing the proposal con- 
tained in the memorandum which accompanies this letter. 

I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir,. 
Your most obedient, humble servant, 

Granville. 

Sefipr Don Jose Maria de Rojas, etc., etc. 



Memorandum by Earl Granville. 

Memorandum on the question of boundaries between British 
Guiana and Venezuela: 

I. After careful consideration of the proposition made by 
the Venezuelan Minister for an adjustment of the boundary 



60 



between British Guiana and Venezuela, Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment are of opinion that the line proposed by him could not 
be accepted without serious injury to British Guiana. 

2. They consider that the following are some of the more 
prominent objections which exist to a division of the territory 
by such a line as that suggested by Senor de Rojas: The line 
proposed would sever from the Colony existing settlements, 
and would cut off lands which have for a long series of years 
been held by lawful title of Dutch or British origin recognized 
by the Government. The acceptance of the line proposed 
would also involve a surrender of a larger portion of territory, 
to which the claim of Great Britain is unassailable, than any 
which can be reasonably yielded, even for the purpose of bring- 
ing this long-pending question to a close. 

3. Moreover, the line proposed by Senor de Rojas offers 
practical difficulties, which appear to Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment to be insuperable. The meridian of 60° of longitude in- 
tersects, and would divide, the numerous rivers and creeks and 
different watersheds in a manner that would cause lasting in- 
convenience to both countries. It would also, they believe, be 
found impracticable to keep such a boundary line sufficiently 
marked or defined and thus, in an acute form, would be perpetu- 
ated the evils now felt. The Colonial Government would be 
exposed to all the special difficulties which would in conse- 
quence be created, more particularly with respect to the tribes 
of aboriginal Indians, who have never recognized other than 
British authority. 

4. Further, the line proposed by Senor de Rojas would place 
within Venezuelan territory the outlets of that inland water 
system which, commencing in the center of the country of 
Essequibo, flows through a network of rivers and creeks to the 
sea, and enters the ocean by the Waini and Barima. It is by 
these channels that fugitives from justice are often enabled to 
baffle pursuit, and for the due administration of the law and 
repression of crime in British Guiana, it is essential that the 
Colonial Government should possess the control of these outlets. 

5. As regards that portion of the territory which lies be- 



61 



tween the Moroco and the mouth of the Orinoco, Her Majesty's 
Government believe that no impartial person, after study- 
ing the records, can escape the conviction that the Barima was 
undoubtedly before, and at the time of the conclusion of the 
Treaty of Miinster (1648), held by the Dutch, and that the 
right of her Majesty's Government to the territory up to that 
point is in consequence unassailable. 

6. But they view it as of such importance to the welfare and 
material advancement of the Colony of British Guiana, that 
this long-pending boundary question should be speedily settled, 
that they think that if some of the rights of Great Britain can be 
waived, without serious detriment to the colony, it would be 
highly desirable to do so, if thereby settlement can be effected. 

7. With this object in view, and in a spirit of conciliation, 
Her Majesty's Government have sought to suggest a boundary 
which, while it shall afford due protection to the interests of 
British Guiana, shall be such as to recognize the reasonable 
claims and requirements of Venezuela, and avoid the occasion 
for subsequent disputes. 

8. They are disposed, therefore, to submit the following as a 
line of boundary, which they consider will yield to Venezuela 
every reasonable requirement, while securing the interests of 
British Guiana: The initial point to be fixed at a spot on the 
seashore twenty-nine miles of longitude due east from the right 
bank of the River Barima, and to be carried thence south over 
the mountain or hill called on Schomburgk original map the 
Yarikita Hill, to the 8th parallel of north latitude; thence west 
along the same parallel of latitude until it cuts the boun- 
dary line proposed by Schomburgk, and laid down on the map 
before mentioned, thence to follow such boundary along its 
course to the Acarabisi, following the Acarabisi to its junction 
with the Cuyuni, thence along the left bank of the River Cuyuni 
to its source, and thenee in a southeasterly direction to the line 
as proposed by Schomburgk to the Essequibo and Corentyne. 

9. This boundary will surrender to Venezuela what has been 
called the Dardanelles of the Orinoco. It will give to Vene- 
zuela the entire command of the mouth of that river, and it 



62 



yields about one-half of the disputed territory, while it se- 
cures to British Guiana a well-defined natural boundary along 
almost its whole course, except for about the first fifty miles 
inland from the sea, where it is necessary to lay down an arbi- 
trary boundary in order to secure to Venezuela the undis- 
turbed possession of the mouths of the Orinoco; but even 
here advantage has been taken of well-defined natural land- 
marks. The Barima, connected as before mentioned by its 
tributaries with the center of the country of Essequibo, is also 
connected with the Waini by a channel through which the tide 
flows and ebbs. 

10. The line of boundary now proposed will fall a little to 
the north of the junction of this channel with the Barima, 
thus placing these outlets within British Guiana, and enabling 
the Colonial Government to exercise efficient control over 
these means of communication with the interior of the colony. 
The high land referred to as Mount Yarikita is the top of the 
watershed between the Barima and the Amacuro at that point, 
and is near the range of hillocks shown on Schomburgk's 
map before mentioned. The line proposed does not encroach 
on any territory actually settled or occupied by Venezuela, 
and the difference between the line as proposed by Her Maj- 
esty's Government and that as proposed by Senor de Rojas, is 
as regards the portion of the territory most important to Ven- 
ezuela, not very considerable, while anything short of this 
would fail to secure to British Guiana the command of the in- 
lets and outlets of her internal water communication. 

11. The internal boundary suggested is one that would be 
well understood by the aboriginal Indians and others. All 
would soon learn that the boundary line ran along the Cuyuni 
from its source to its junction with the Acarabisi, and from 
that point along the Acarabisi to its source, and from there 
along the high lands which stretch thence in a northerly di- 
rection toward the sea. A line so well marked would prevent 
many complications and will commend itself, it is hoped, on 
that and the other grounds above stated, to the acceptance of 
the Venezuelan Government. 



63 



PART VII. 

Mr. Mansfield to Dr. Seijas. 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, October 15th, 1883. 

Monsieur le Ministre: 

By the last packet of the Royal Mail Company I received 
a communication from Lord Granville of no inconsiderable 
importance; the subjects therein treated are various, and I 
cannot too strongly impress upon Your Excellency my opinion 
that they should receive a careful and exhaustive considera- 
tion at the hands of the Venezuelan Government, a considera- 
tion which, indeed, His Excellency the President of the 
Republic is invariably disposed to accord to the communica- 
tions of friendly Governments and more especially to those of 
the Government of Great Britain; on the present occasion, 
however, when it is for the manifest and mutual advantage of 
both Governments that various outstanding points at issue, 
some indeed of long date, should receive a proximate and 
satisfactory solution, a careful consideration of the views of 
Her Majesty's Government becomes even yet more neces- 
sary. 

Lord Granville instructs me to invite the serious attention 
of the Venezuelan Government to the questions now pending 
between Great Britain and Venezuela, and I am to state that 
it is, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, desirable 
that an early settlement of them should be arrived at. 

Lord Granville has been for some time awaiting the arrival 
of Seilor Rojas in London in order to enter with him upon a 
discussion of the points at issue, but his recall has prevented 
Lord Granville from doing so, and his Lordship is desirous of 
knowing how soon His Excellency's successor may be ex- 
pected, and whether the new Minister will be furnished with 
such instructions as will enable him to take these matters in 
hand as soon as he arrives in Europe. 



64 



The questions to which Lord Granville refers are: 
ist. The boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana^ 
2nd. The differential duties imposed on imports from British 
Colonies. 

3rd. The claims of the British creditors of the Republic. 

As a preliminary to entering upon negotiations, Lord Gran- 
ville considers it to be indispensable that an answer should be 
given to the proposals of Her Majesty's Government in re- 
gard to the Boundary; should that answer be in the affirma- 
tive, and should the other questions be satisfactorily settled, 
the wishes of the Venezuelan Government in regard to the 
cession of the Island of Patos will receive favorable con- 
sideration. 

With reference to the differential duties. Her Majesty's 
Government will be prepared to discuss in the most friendly 
spirit, but without pledging themselves beforehand to accept 
them, the proposals of the Venezuelan Government for the 
addition of supplemental articles to the treaty now existing 
between the two Countries. 

The question of foreign claims on Venezuela has formed 
the subject of a recent communication from the United States 
Government to that of Her Majesty and before replying to it 
Lord Granville would be glad to be informed of the view 
which the Venezuelan Government take of the recommenda- 
tion, that they should pay to France over and above the 
stipulated pro-rata payments the sum of seven hundred and 
twenty thousand francs (frcs. 720,000). 

Her Majesty's Government consider that the questions to 
which Lord Granville refers should be dealt with as a whole, 
and I am instructed to say that they attach great importance 
to a simultaneous settlement of them. 

Such, Your Excellency, are the exact views of Her 
Majesty's Government upon the subjects in question, and I 
cannot but feel convinced that the cordial and friendly spirit in 
which they are approached by Lord Granville will be met in 
a similar manner by the Government of Venezuela. 

The President of the Republic will not fail to observe the 



65 



tone of Lord Granville concerning the supplemental articles 
(not article) to the Treaty; and, although His Lordship 
enters into no distinct promise upon the subject I venture to 
think, that, when the matter comes regularly into discussion, 
the proposals of Venezuela v^ill undergo every chance of 
meeting with acceptance by Her Majesty's Government. 

In renewing the assurance of my distinguished considera- 
tion, I have the honor to sign myself your Excellency's most 
obedient, humble servant. 

C. E. Mansfield. 

His Excellency Seiior Rafael Seijas, etc., etc., etc. 

Dr. Seijas to Mr. Mansfield. 

[Translation.] 

Department of Foreign Affairs — D. P. E. — No. 625. 

Caracas, November 15th, 1883. 

I have had the honour to receive the note dated 15th of 
October last, in which you set forth the tenor of the instruc- 
tions sent recently by Lord Granville, Minister of Foreign 
Affairs to Her Britannic Majesty, for the purpose of recom- 
mending most urgently to the Venezuelan Government the 
importance of coming to a speedy and complete conclusion of 
the questions pending between the two countries : viz., as His 
Lordship says: 

ist. Limits between Venezuela and Bristish Guiana; 

2nd. Differential duties on the importations into Venezuela 
from British Colonies; 

3rd. Pending claims of British creditors against the Re- 
public. 

And you add, with the authorization of Lord Granville, that 
the Government of Her Majesty will be disposed to consider 
favorably the reclamation of Venezuela referring to the Island 
of PatoSf provided the arrangement of the questions mentioned 
heretofore come to a satisfactory solution, as it is to be 
hoped. 



66 



The terms in which the instructions of Lord Granville ap- 
pear to be conceived, as well as the interest they exhibit to 
arrive at a speedy and joint solution of the debated points, are 
highly appreciated by His Excellency the President of the 
Republic, as they are a proof of the very friendly tendency 
and elevated intentions of the Government of Her Majesty, 
and justify and confirm at the same time the persuasion, which 
never has abandoned the mind of His Excellency the Presi- 
dent, of its being impossible, in view of the antecedents, that 
the disposition of the Government of Great Britain towards 
the Republic of Venezuela could cease to be a noble one. 

Without any legitimate reasons or motives which in an}' way 
could be looked at as antagonistic between the two nations, 
considering the secular wisdom of the Cabinet of St. James, 
the constant cordiality of the young Republic to correspond 
in a worthy manner to those friendly feelings, and the recipro- 
cal demonstrations of special deference shown at all times, 
there could, at the present time, exist no other prospect besides 
the possibility of dispelling any cause of discussion between 
the two Governments. 

There remains one difficulty of a secondary character in ref- 
erence to the modus operandi, and I have been instructed by 
His Excellency the President to bring it to the consideration 
of the Government of Her Majesty, in the hope that it may be 
removed. 

This difficulty consists principalh' in the very desire of His 
Excellency the President of the Republic, to have the glory 
of arranging, in a manner convenient and effective to both 
sides, before the 20th of February next, at which day his 
Excellency has to retire from the Executive office, every 
difference in the important relations between the Republic and 
Great Britain, with the perfect security that the Congress of 
the Republic w'ill give full approbation to whatever His Excel- 
lency may have agreed upon. 

This desire, which is in perfect harmony with that expressed 
so urgently by the noble Lord Granville, would not be opposed 
to the intention of carrying on the negotiations in London, if 



67 



His Excellency the President could at present, in accordance 
with our laws, decide to send a Minister of the Republic to 
Her Majesty; but this unfortunately he cannot do under the 
budget of the present fiscal year, nor shall he be able to do 
so before next spring, in accordance with the new budget. 

However, the question of limits being the principal point 
amongst those recommended by Lord Granville, it must be 
observed that precisely this point has caused a delay in the 
course of the negotiations for the time of one year, as the 
Government was anxious to overcome by any means whatever 
the serious difficulty which the Constitution or Fundamental 
Law of the Republic presents to the conclusion of Treaties 
on Boundaries. It denies most explicitly to its High Powers 
the faculty of alienating, or making cession of the smallest part 
■of the territory under the recognized dominion of the Repub- 
lic, in no case or manner whatever, even if it were as an in- 
demnification in exchange. 

For one year the President has been consulting the opinion 
of jurisconsults and public men of high standing, in order to 
get any information that might lead to the solution of the 
Guiana Boundary question by means of a Treaty. But all 
the documents and all men of talent that have been con- 
sulted, have confirmed more and more the belief that the river 
Essequibo is the lawful boundary inherited by the Republic, 
with the Colony belonging formerly to the Dutch, and now 
to England. Thus the impossibility became apparent to con- 
clude this discussion otherwise than through the interven- 
tion of an arbiter who, by the free and unanimous election 
of both Governments, should judge and give a final sentence. 

This is the obstacle which His Excellency the President 
finds to comply as readily as he should like to do with the 
desire of Lord Granville to put an end to all discussion between 
the two Governments by means of a Treaty. 

A sentence de jure would be an obligatory and expedient 
solution of the boundary question; and therefore His Excellency 
the President orders me to recommend most earnestly, 
through you as the worthy organ, to the consideration of Lord 



68 



Granville the urgency of unanimously electing an arbiter, so- 
that from now till February the friendly intentions of both 
Governments may be satisfied; a measure which will be only 
dependent on the Government of Her Majesty being pleased 
to send instructions to the British Legation at Caracas, for the 
purpose of agreeing with the Venezuelan Government about 
such an election without any further delay. 

The negotiations about supplementing the actual Treaty, as 
proposed by Venezuela on account of this being most necessary 
to its better intelligence in the future, as well as the difficulties 
arising from differential duties, the claims of British creditors, 
and the Island of Fatos, might be brought to a desirable solu- 
tion w^hilst the sentence in the boundary question is pend- 
ing, if the Government of Her Majesty, in view of the stress 
of circumstances resulting from the short term of the 20th 
of February, would agree to have these negotiations carried 
on at Caracas. Thus His Excellency would have the satisfac- 
tion to reach before the 20th of February the end he wishes 
for, to leave arranged every difficulty between the Republic 
and Great Britain, her friend for many years. 

It would be concurrent to the purpose if the noble Lord 
Granville were pleased to include the claims of British sub- 
jects against Venezuela in the instructions to be sent to the 
British Legation at Caracas, so as to accept the agreement 
proposed to the Government of Her Majesty for converting 
the remainder of these claims into Diplomatic Debt repre-^ 
sented by 3 per cent, bonds. In this connection it may be per- 
tinent to remember here that Italy, by virtue of a Treaty, has 
accepted this mode of payment, which is to-day the most 
common, and at the same time the most advantageous for the 
legitimate creditor and the honest debtor. Spain accepted it 
for liquidating the claims of her subjects, who are well satis- 
fied with it. Germany, in consequence, has declared that she 
will accept it also provided the other creditors do the same. 

With respect to the indication of Lord Granville which 
emanates from another one made by the Government of the 
United States referring to the French claims, this Govern- 



69 



ment has officially acquainted the French Government, who 
has declined to accept the fractional amount due to it of the 
13 per cent, set off by the law for the diplomatic claims, that the 
sum of 400,000 francs shall be paid in cash, in order that the 
remainder of the claims, which when liquidated perhaps does 
not come up to as much, should be paid in 3 per cent, bonds of 
the Diplomatic Debt or with fr. 13,242 a month, instead of fr. 
11,637, which is to-day the fractional amount due to France. 

I have thus fulfilled the orders of the President wilh all the 
clearness and precision consistent with the brevity of thne 
from now till the 20th of February, and as the noble Lord 
Granville most urgently requests, a desire which you have 
so courteously communicated ; and His Excellency the Pres- 
ident hopes to see reaHzed the glory to which he aspires, 
namely, to leave the Government of the Republic in the most 
friendly accord and without point of discussion with that of 
Great Britain. 

1 remain, sir, your obedient servant. 

(Signed) Rafael Seijas. 

To His Excellency, Colonel C. E. Mansfield, Minister Resident to Her British 
Majesty. 

Mr. Mansfield to Dr. Seijas. 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, March nth, 1884. 

Mo7isieiir le Ministre : 

With reference to some communications which passed be- 
tween Your Excellency's Office and this Legation in Novem- 
ber of the past year I have the honor to inform Your Ex- 
cellency that I am in receipt of a despatch from Earl Gran- 
ville dated the 15th of January which has been much delayed 
owang to the recent storms in the Atlantic. In the despatch 
in question I am instructed to state to Your Excellency that 
Her Majesty's Government fear that it would be found im- 
practicable considering the importance and complicated nature 
of the questions at issue between the two Governments, to 



70 



bring them to a settlement before the expiration of the Presi- 
dent's term of office; and, further, I am to say, that if the 
Venezuelan Government should not decide to send a Diplo- 
matic Representative to London, instructions will be prepared 
to enable Her Majesty's Representative at Caracas to carry 
on negotiations. 

Availing myself of this opportunity to renew the assurance 
of my distinguished consideration I have the honor to be 
Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant. 

C. E. Mansfield. 

His Excellency Sefior Rafael Seijas, etc., etc., etc. 



Dr. Scijas to Mr. Mansfield. 

[Translation.] 

Department of Foreign Affairs. — D. P. E. No. 219. 

Caracas, March 15th, 1884. 

Sir: 

I have read to the President of the Republic the official 
note in which Your Excellency communicates to me that Her 
Majesty's Government feared that the pending questions be- 
tween the two countries would not be brought to an end, on 
account of their importance and complicated nature, before 
General Guzman Blanco finishes his present term of office; 
and, that in case Venezuela does not send to London a 
Diplomatic Agent, instructions would be given to Your 
Excellency to continue negotiations in Caracas. 

It may be easily understood that the President, having 
such a great interest for the welfare of his country, 
should desire to present his fellow-citizens, as a proof of his 
love for it, with the settlement of said questions, in order to 
secure thus the permanent good understanding of Venezuela 
and Great Britain, which has been one of the principal objects 
his Administration has aimed at. 

Since it has been impossible to do so during his Adminis- 
tration, he hopes that one of the first cares of the next will be 



71 



to appoint a Plenipotentiary of Venezuela in London; and he 
entertains the hope that this will take place soon, and will 
make it possible to carry on the negotiations which have been 
mentioned, and bring them to an issue. 

I beg to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my 
high consideration. 

Rafael Seijas. 

To His Excellency Colonel C. E. Mansfield, Her Britannic Majesty's Minister 
Resident. 

Mr. Ma?isfield to Dr. Setjas. 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, March 29th, 1884. 

Mo7isieur Ic Ministre: 

With reference to Your Excellency's note of November 
the 15th of last year, I have the honor to bring to the notice 
of the President of the Republic that I have received a dis- 
patch from Lord Granville, dated February 29, instructing 
me to state that Her Majesty's Government are not of 
opinion that the boundary between this Republic and British 
Guiana should be referred to arbitration, but express, at the 
same time, the hope, that some other means may be desired 
for bringing this long-standing matter to an issue satisfactory 
to both powers. 

With sentiments of distinguished consideration, I have the 
honor to be Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant. 

C. E. Mansfield. 

His Excellency Senor Rafael Seijas, etc., etc., etc. 

[Translation.] 

Dr. Seijas to Mr. Maiisfield. 

Department of Foreign Affairs. — D. P. E. — No. 251. 

I Caracas, April 2nd, 1884. 

Sir: 

I have received Your Excellency's note of the 29th of last 
March in which you state that His Excellency, Her Britannic 



72 



Majesty's Secretary for Foreign Affairs, has authorized your 
Legation to inform the President of the Republic that Her 
Majesty's Government are not wilHng to submit the question of 
Hmits between Venezuelan Guiana and British Guiana to arbi- 
tration, expressing at the same time the hope that another 
means may be found of putting an end to this long-standing 
question in a manner satisfactory to both countries. 

In the note which I addressed on the 15th of November 
last to Your Excellency, I stated the grounds upon which the 
President based his proposals to submit the matter to arbitra- 
tion. The first and principal one was that Article 12 of the 
Constitution of the Republic forbids all alienations of territory; 
and, as there is a disagreement between the two parties as to 
the extent of territory belonging to each, the decision of an 
arbitrator could alone determine whether the pretension of 
this country has or has not any foundation. 

It was furthermore borne in mind that, precisely in regard 
to this same question of limits, Lord Aberdeen, then Her 
Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 
proposed again and again to the Plenipotentiary of Venezuela, 
Dr. Fortique, in a conference held on the 29th of July, 1843, 
to resort to arbitration as a means of solving the question. 

It was furthermore recalled that, as the result of the agree- 
ment made at the conference held in Paris in 1856 on the prop- 
osition of the Plenipotentiary of Great Britain, the latter's 
Legation in Caracas suggested to the Venezuelan Govern- 
ment to invoke the good offices of some friendly Power in 
order to prevent international conflicts, which was promptly 
and wiUingly acceded to by the latter, with the understanding 
that this involved not only mediation but arbitration. 

It w^as thought likewise that this means of settling inter- 
national controversies, besides being the fittest, as far as 
boundary questions were concerned, is daily gaining the ap- 
proval of the most enlightened and liberal nations. 

Great Britain is one of those who have been foremost in 
this struggle of progress. 

The present Prim.e Minister of Great Britain once ex- 



73 



pressed himself in the following terms before the House of 
Commons: "As for the proposition to submit international 
misunderstandings to arbitration, I think that it is in itself a 
great triumph. This is. perhaps, the first time that the rep- 
resentatives of the principal nations of Europe have given an 
emphatical expression to feelings which at least contain a 
limited disapproval of the resort to war, and vindicated the 
-supremacy of reason, of justice, of humanity and of religion." 
The above referred to the spirit which prevailed at the afore- 
said Paris conference. 

The proposition of Mr. Richards, to recommend to Her 
Majesty to instruct the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to put 
himself in communication with other Powers in order to im- 
prove International Law and to establish a general and per- 
manent system of arbitration between nations, was approved 
in 1S73 by a majority of 98 votes against 88. 

It is affirmed that Sir John Bowring introduced the principle 
of arbitration into treaties which he negotiated with Belgium, 
Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Hanover. 

I need not recall the practical instances in which Great 
-Britain has adopted arbitration for the settlement of inter- 
national disputes, among them being questions of limits, as, 
for example, those submitted in 1830 to the King of Holland 
and in 1871 to the Emperor of Germany. 

1 will mention in conclusion as it is of more recent occur- 
rence, the clause of arbitration introduced in the protocol an- 
nexed to the treaty made between Great Britain and Italy on 
the 5th of June, 1883, which met with the applause of the As- 
sociation of International Arbitration existing in England, in 
an address signed by eight members of the House of Lords, 
by forty-five of the House of Commons, and by Professors of 
the Oxford, Cambridge and London Universities, as well as by 
magistrates, merchants and other prominent persons of the 
United Kingdom. 

But, as Her Britannic Majesty's Cabinet is of a different 
opinion in the present instance, the President has instructed 
cne to request them, without losing sight of the constitu- 



74 



tional situation of Venezuela, to kindly select and point out 
another acceptable way of obtaining a settlement of this diffi- 
culty, which the Republic so anxiously desires. 

I beg to renew to Your Excellency the assurance of my 
distinguished consideration. 

Rafael Seijas. 

To His Excellency Col. C. E. Mansfield, H. B. M. Minister Resident. 

Mr. Mansfield to Dr. Seijas. 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, April 7th, 1884. 

Monsieur le Ministre'. 

I hasten to offer my best thanks for Your Excellency's very 
interesting note upon the subject of arbitration in the matter 
of the Boundary between British Guiana and the territory of 
this Republic. 

I shall not fail to transmit to Lord Granville a copy and 
translation of your Excellency's Note; Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment are as desirous as that of Venezuela to procure the set- 
tlement of this long-standing difference and the subject will 
doubtless be discussed between Lord Granville and the new 
Venezuelan Minister at an early period after the arrival of the 
latter in London. 

For the present Her Majesty's Government does not appear 
to be of opinion that arbitration is applicable to the question, 
and Lord Granville, I admit, holds out little expectation to me 
in his dispatch, that Her Majesty's Government will be dis- 
posed to alter their view of the case, but much may be ex- 
pected in the way of settlement of our various pending ques- 
tions, when the new Venezuelan Minister shall have arrived 
in E'.ngland and find himself in direct communication with Her 
Majesty's Government. 

AVith the renewed assurance of my distinguished consider- 
ation, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most obedient,, 
humble servant. 

C. E, Mansfield. 

His Excellency Seizor Rafael Seijas, etc., etc., etc. 



75 



Same to Same. 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, April 8th, 1884. 

Monsieur le Ministre : 

With reference to the last paragraph of Your Excellency's 
Note of the 2d of this month, inviting a suggestion for a so- 
lution of the question concerning the frontier between this 
Republic and British Guiana, a solution which must neces- 
sarily be in accordance with the provisions of the Venezuelan 
Constitution, I beg to say that I have been giving the subject 
my best consideration, examining, at the same time, the article 
of the Constitution to which allusion is made by Your Excel- 
lency. 

It has occurred to me, that it may be worthy of the consid- 
eration of the President to weigh whether a district about the 
sovereignty of which, since the earliest days of the Republic of 
Venezuela there has existed a discussion with a foreign Power, 
is to be regarded as forming so integral 3. portio?i of the terri- 
tory of the Republic as to preclude the possibility within the 
limits of the Constitution of a rectification of frontier by treaty; 
I make use of the latter term with intention and advisedly; 
the question appears to me one essentially of rectification of 
frontier, for neither in the proposals of Lord Aberdeen, nor 
in those made by Lord Granville to Seilor Rojas does Her 
Majesty's Government suggest that the whole of the territory 
which at o?ie time was assumed to be comprised in our posses- 
sions as inherited from the Dutch, should now be declared to 
be British territory. 

As I understand the case, the original frontier by both pro- 
posals has receded in a sense in favour of Ve?iezuela, and under 
the term of rectification of frontier by treaty, the subject may 
therefore perhaps be considered by the President to come 
within the provisions of the Constitution. 

When Lord Granville, two years since, forwarded to me 
copies and maps of his proposals to Senor Rojas, His Lord- 
ship intimated to me in the most distinct terms that the same 



76 



were merely sent to me for my information, stating that all 
negotiations would be carried on in London; but in making 
the above suggestions to Your Excellency I conceive that I 
am not departing from my instructions, as I am not taking 
into consideration the question of the boundary but merely 
the manner and form in which negotiations might take place, 
in harmony with the Constitution of Venezuela. 

I shall esteem it a favour if Your Excellency will submit 
the above to General Guzman Blanco at the earliest possible 
-opportuiiity and request His Excellency to give to my ideas his 
most attentive consideration. 

No very immediate answer will be necessary; I shall for- 
ward a copy of this note to Lord Granville and the new Ven- 
ezuelan Plenipotentiar}^ in London will be able to discuss the 
question with His Lordship, but at the same time I cannot but 
expiess the hope that my view of the subject as a mere recti- 
fication of frontier to be arranged by treaty may appear to 
General Guzman Blanco to present an adequate sohitioji for the 
question. 

With the renewed assurance of my distinguished considera- 
tion I have the honor to be your Excellency's most obedient, 
humble servant. C. E. Mansfield. 

His Excellency Senor Rafael Seijas, etc., etc., etc. 

Dr. Seijas to Mr. Mansfield. 

[Translation.] 

Department of Foreign Affairs. — D. P. E. — No. 271. 

Caracas, April 9th, 1884. 

Sir: 

I hastened to report to the President Your Excellency's 
answer to the dispatch in which I stated the grounds 
Venezuela had had to propose arbitration to Great Britain for 
the settlement of the dispute on limits between the two coun- 
tries, and in which I asked, besides, Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment to point out other means of reaching this object in any 
way compatible with the Constitution of the Republic. 



77 



After havincr examined the question, Your Excellency sug- 
gests to the President to fix his attention upon the point whether 
a district about the sovereignty of which there has existed a 
discussion with a foreign Power since the earliest days of the 
establishment of the Republic, is to be regarded as forming so 
integral a portion of the territory of the Republic that it pre- 
cludes the possibility, within the limits of the Constitution, of a 
rectification of frontier by treaty. 

Your Excellency further remarks that neither in the pro- 
posals of Lord Aberdeen nor in those of Lord Granville does 
Her Majesty's Government suggest that the whole of the ter- 
ritory which at one time was supposed to be comprised within 
their possessions as having been inherited from the Dutch, be 
now declared to be British territory; and that as far as Your 
Excellency understands the case, there has been in both propo- 
sitions a diversion or retrocession in favor of Venezuela with 
regard to the original frontier, and, under the terms of the rec- 
tification of the latter by means of a treaty, it may perhaps be 
possible to the President to consider the matter as included in 
the provisions of the Constitution. 

Allow me to tell Your Excellency what the President thinks 
in this respect. 

All the Constitutions of Venezuela have established that her 
limits are the same which in 1810 belonged to the Captaincy 
General of Venezuela. 

According to those of 1830 and 1857, Congress had the 
power to *' decree the alienation, the exchange or the acqui- 
sition of territory." 

In that of 1858 it is stated that " no portion of territory 
could pass through alienation to the dominion of another 
Power; but that this rule should not be an obstacle to the ac- 
commodations which might become indispensable for the fixing 
of the boundaries of the Republic with other neighbouring 
countries, as long as no village should lose its nationality 
through the same." 

As though to contrast with this last clause the following 
Article 13th was written in the Constitutions of 1864, 1874, 



78 



and 1881: *' the States of the Venezuelan Confederation bind 
themselves to the following — 4th, not to alienate to a foreign 
Power any portion of their territory, nor to implore its protec- 
tion, nor to establish or carry on relations either political or 
diplomatic with other nations, as all this is left for the Federal 
Government to do." 

Here are to be found prohibitions which refer as much to 
the States singly as to the whole of them, and such are those 
concerning the territory and the asking for the protection of 
another Power. The other prohibition affects the States onh^ 
in their individual character, as one of the objects of the Union 
is to delegate the exercise of external sovereignty in the entity 
formed by the whole. 

Venezuela and Great Britain have equal rights in the ques- 
tion which is being discussed. If the Republic yielded any 
part of her pretension, she would acknowledge the superiority 
of the British claim : she would violate the aforesaid article 
of the Constitution and would incur the reproaches of the 
citizens. 

But when both nations setting aside their independence for 
the sake of peace and good friendship create by common con- 
sent a tribunal which is to decide upon the controversy, the 
latter can determine that one of the parties, or both, is mis- 
taken in its judgment as to the extent of its territory. In this 
manner the decision would not clash with the Constitution of 
the Republic, as there would be no alienation of what would 
prove not to be her property. 

Arbitration alone possesses this advantage among the means 
of settling international disputes, especially when it has become 
evident that neither conventions nor compromises could possi- 
bly lead to the desired object. 

What Your Excellency states in regard to Her Britannic 
Majesty's Government's not maintaining the limits that they 
originally believed to be those of Guiana is a proof that there 
ma}' be some ground for their modifying their opinion in the 
matter in question. But I beg to be allowed to remark that 
Lord Granville's proposal is, for unknown reasons, less favor- 



79 



able to Venezuela than that of Lord A^berdeen, as while the lat- 
ter spontaneousl}^ presented as a Hmit the course of river Mo- 
roco, the former has traced a more northerly line commencing 
at a point of the coast twenty-nine miles in longitude to the 
East of the right bank of river Barima. 

I beg to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my 
highest consideration. 

Rafael Seijas. 

To His Excellency Colonel C. E. Mansfield, H. 3. M. Minister Resident. 
Mr. Mails field to Dr. Seijas. 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, April i6th, 1884. 

Monsieur le Mivistre : 

I beg to offer my best thanks for Your Excellency's Note 
of the 9th instant in which you do me the honor to state at 
further length the difficulties which in the opinion of the 
President are presented by the provisions of the Constitution 
to the settlement by treaty of the Boundary between this Re- 
public and the dominions of Her Majesty in Guiana. 

To my great regret I perceive that there appears to remain 
but little prospect of a solution of the question; the whole 
matter, however, will come under discussion between the new 
Venezuelan Plenipotentiary in London and Her Majesty's 
Government, when perhaps some " modus operandi " may 
be devised in accordance with the views of the two Govern- 
ments. 

I have not thought it advisable to personally enter further 
into the question, as I might be drifted into engaging in the 
discussion and consideration of points, concerning which I was 
instructed that negotiations would be carried on in London in 
the event of Venezuela being represented in that capital, and 
only in Caracas in a contrary contingency; but I shall not fail, 
when I transmit a copy and translation of Your Excellency's 
late note, to accompany the same with any observations which 
may appear to be relevant to the case in question; and I can 
only conclude with the hope that the friendly spirit in which 



80 



the subject is being approached by both Governments may not 
in the end prove barren of results. 

With the assurance of my distinguished consideration, I 
have the honor to be Your Excellency's most obedient, humble 
servant. 

C. E. Mansfield. 

His Excellency Senor Rafael Seijas, etc., etc., etc. 



Mr. Mansfield to Dr. Amengual. ' 

[Copy.] 

Caracas, August 6th, 1884. 

Monsieur le Ministre: 

With reference to correspondence which took place in the 
Spring of the present year between Your Excellency's prede- 
cessor and this Legation concerning the long-pending ques- 
tion of the frontier between British Guiana and the Re- 
public of Venezuela, I beg to say that I transmitted to London 
copies and translations of the latest communications of Senor 
Seijas, and after careful consideration of the same Lord 
Granville instructs me to state that Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment adhere to their opinion that arbitration is not a desirable 
or indeed a suitable mode of dealing with the subject, and Her 
Majesty's Governm.ent entertain earnest hopes that some 
other solution such as negotiation by mutual agreement may 
be devised for settling this question of now more than half a 
century's standing. 

With the renewed assurance of my distinguished considera- 
tion, I have the honor to be, Monsieur le Ministre, Your Ex- 
cellency's most obedient, humble servant. 

C. E. Mansfield. 

To His Excellency General Vicente Amengual, Secretary of State for Foreign^ 
Affairs. 



81 



PART VIII. 

Memorandum left with Sir Julian Pauncefote by General 
Guzman Blanco. 

The Government o£ Great Britain proposed to that of 
Venezuela the simultaneous settlement of these questions of 
Hmits, differential duties, and pecuniary claims. 

As regards the first the Government of the Republic finds 
in its Constitution an insuperable difficulty to settle it in any 
other way but arbitration. 

In fact, the States of the Confederation of Venezuela bind 
themselves therein to alienate to no Foreign Power any part of 
their territory. Therefore it is impossible for them to make 
or accept any Treaty in which are not recognized the same 
limits which in the year 1810 belonged to the former Cap- 
taincy General of Venezuela, to wit: the limits ofthe United 
States of the Venezuelan Confederation according to what is 
established in another article of the above mentioned Consti- 
tution . 

For this reason arbitration was proposed having in mind 
that the decision of a third Power would not imply the aliena- 
tion of territory, but simply a declaration of the present rights 
of the parties. Her Britannic Majesty's Cabinet did not con- 
sider the proposal admissible. Venezuela now proposes, in- 
stead of the arbitration of a friendly Power, the sentence of a 
Commission of Jurists composed of persons chosen respect- 
ively by the parties. 



Foreign Office, December 24th, 1884. 
Monsieur le Ministre: 

In the course of the conversation we had in this office on 
the 25th of October last about the settlement of the question 
of limits with Venezuela, you observed that, according to the 



82 



provisions of her Constitution neither Congress nor the Ex- 
ecutive had the power to ahenate any portion of the Vene- 
zuelan territory and that therefore the Government of the 
Republic could not enter into any settlement which involved 
the cession of any portion of the territory claimed by Vene- 
zuela as belonging to her. I now have the honor of pointing 
out to you that the object of the proposal made to the 
Government of Venezuela by that of Her Majesty for the 
settlement of this question, was to determine the proper 
boundary lines between Venezuela and the Colony of British 
Guiana, and not to obtain the cession of any part of the 
Venezuelan territory. 

I have the honor to sign myself, Monsieur le Ministre, with 
the highest consideration, your most obedient, humble servant. 

Granville. 

Senor General Guzman Blanco, etc., etc., etc. 



General Giizmun Blanco to Earl Granville. 
Legation of Venezuela in London. — Numero 200. 
194 Queen's Gate, London, December 30th, 1884. 
My Lord: 

I beg to acknowledge th*^ receipt of Your Excellency's 
note of the 24th of this month, in which Your Excellency re- 
minds me of an observation which I made during an inter- 
view on the 25th of October about the manner of settling the 
pending question of limits, and Your Excellency points out to 
me that the object of the proposal made by the Government 
of Great Britain to that of Venezuela for the settlement of the 
question was to determine the proper boundary lines between 
the Republic and the Colony of British Guiana, and not to 
obtain the cession of any part of the Venezuelan territory. 

In that interview I merely observed the difficulty because 
it referred principally to other points. I was more explicit 
on a later occasion in an interview I had with Sir Julian 
Pauncefote, to whom I even left a memorandum in which 1 
fully exposed my views. 



83 



I shall now explain myself better. 

Article III of our Constitution is as follows : " The boundary 
lines of the United States of the Venezuelan Confederation 
are the same as those which in the year 1810 belonged to the 
former Captaincy General of Venezuela." 

When the Treaty of Peace and Recognition was signed by 
Venezuela and Spain the 30th of March, 1845, H. C. M. 
waived, on behalf of the Republic, the sovereignty, rights and 
actions which belonged to her over the American territory 
known by its former name of Captaincy General of Vene- 
zuela." In consequence, H. C. M. recognized the Republic 
of Venezuela as a free nation, sovereign and independent, and 
composed of the provinces and territories denominated in her 
Constitution and other posterior laws, to wit : " Margarita, 
Guiana, Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Carabobo, Barquisi- 
meto, Barinas, Apure, Merida, Trujillo, Coro, and Maracaibo, 
and any other territories or islands that may belong to it." 

Article XIII. of our Constitution establishes as one of the 
basis of the Union — 4th "that the States bind themselves not 
to alienate to any foreign Power any part of their territory." 

And now combining the aforesaid provisions, the difficulty 
which Venezuela finds for the settlement of a boundary ques- 
tion in any other way than by arbitration, becomes plain. The 
Republic understands that the limits of the old Captaincy 
General of Venezuela reached as far as the Essequibo, while 
Great Britain contradicts this. Therefore were the Republic 
to admit a different line, whatever might be the reason of this, 
it would imply the alienation or cession of territory. Neither 
the one side nor the other, being, as they are, interested par- 
ties, can decide the question impartially ; but if it is submitted 
to the decision of a Commission of Jurists who would examine 
the titles of both nations, that Commission would decide ac- 
cording to the merits of the proofs adduced, and each side would 
have to submit to the loss of the territory to which accord- 
ing to the decision of the Commission it has no right, and to 
be content with the one that the sentence declares to be its 
property, giving thereby to public opinion and to the Federal 



84 



Congress of my country no ground to complain that there has 
been any cession of the country's territory, which is prohib- 
ited in an absolute and irrevocable manner by the Constitution 
of Venezuela. 

In view of all the reasons which have been stated, the Gov- 
ernment of the Republic proposed the arbitration of a friendly 
Nation to that of Her Britannic Majesty ; but as this has not 
been accepted, I am instructed to propose that the question be 
submitted to a Commission of Jurists composed of persons 
chosen by both parties. I stated the same thing in a memo- 
randum which I placed in the hands of Sir Julian Pauncefote 
which, as he told me, was to be submitted to the Secretary of 
State for the Colonies. 

This matter is of so much importance to Venezuela, that it is 
one of the principal motives of my coming to England to en- 
deavor to bring about the solution initiated by Venezuela since 
1881. I beg therefore to be allowed to recommend the last 
proposition to the prompt consideration of Your Excellency, 
and I entertain the hope that this time I shall find the means 
of bringing the difficulty to an end, as it is most earnestly de- 
sired by the Republic. 

I beg to renevv to Your Excellency the assurance of my 
highest consideration. 

Guzman Blanco. 

To His Excellency Earl Granville, H, B, M. J'rincipal Secretary of State for 
Foreign Affairs. 



Earl Granville to General Giizindn Blanco. 

Foreign Office, January 24th, 1885. 

Monsieur le Ministre : 

I have had the honor of receiving your letter of the 30lh 
ultimo which reached this office on the t 7th instant referring 
to the question of limits between Venezuela and British 
Guiana, and I beg, in answer, to inform you that it will receive 
the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Government. 



85 



I have the honor to sign myself, Monsieur le Ministre, with 
the highest consideration, your most obedient, humble serv- 
ant. Granville. 

Senor General Guzman Blanco, etc., etc., etc. 



Same to Same. 

Foreign Office, February 13th, 18S5. 
Moiisieiir le Mwistre : 

With reference to my communication of the 24th ultimo, I 
have the honor to state to you that Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment have carefully considered the proposal made to them in 
your letter of 30th of December last, that the settlement of 
the disputed boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela 
should be intrusted to a Commission of Jurists appointed by 
the British and Venezuelan Governments, whose decision 
should be final. 

1 regret to have to inform you, Monsieur le Ministre, that 
the above proposal presents constitutional difficulties which 
prevent Her Majesty's Government from acceding to it, and 
that they are not prepared to depart from the arrangement 
proposed by the Venezuelan Government in 1877, and accepted 
by Her Majesty's Government, to decide the question by 
-adopting a conventional boundary fixed by mutual consent 
between the two Governments. 

I have, etc., 

Granville. 

Senor General Guzman Blanco, etc., etc., etc. 



General Guzman Blanco to Earl Granville, — {Received April 8) 

(Translation.) 

194 Queen's Gate, London, April 6, 1885. 

I have the honor of informing Your Excellency that I have 
received your communication of the 2nd instant respecting a 
Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Venezuela and 
Great Britain. 



86 



Since my arrival in this country, at the first interview I held 
with Your Excellency, I stated that the Government of the 
Republic was ready to terminate, as wished by Her Britannic 
Majesty's Governnent, the point spoken of in Mr. Mans- 
field's note of the 15th October, 1883, namely, the differential 
duties imposed upon the imports from British Colonies. 

Your Excellency referred me, for the discussion of details,, 
to Lord E. Fitzmaurice and Sir Julian Pauncefote. I have 
had with them several interviews concerning the points I was 
instructed to bring to a speedy end. 

Confining myself here to the subject of the Treaty, may I 
be permitted to remind you that it was I who brought forth the 
first formula for giving a solution to the difficulties that had 
occurred. Your Excellency found it to be insufficient, declar- 
ing at the same time that many of the provisions in the Treaty 
of 1825 were not in accordance with modern requirements, and 
inclosing copies of the one concluded wiih Paraguay on the 
i6th October, 1884, to be taken as a standard. On the same 
occasion Your Excellency assured me that an agreement had 
already practically been arrived at between the two Govern- 
ments about the colonial Article, since Seiior Amengual had 
accepted as the basis of settlement the proposals sent to him 
by Colonel Mansfield. Your Excellency transmitted them to 
me with an additional clause relative to the self-governing Col- 
onies. All those circumstances prescribed to me the duty of 
consulting with my Government, particularly as Your Excel- 
lency's statement that Senor Amengual had accepted the pro- 
posal of Mr. Mansfield was not in harmony with my instruc- 
tions. As soon as I received a reply, I addressed to Your 
Excellency a note dated the 21st March. So that, if in the 
course of this negotiation a delay has occurred, it has not 
been owing to me, but to the turn things have taken. 

If Her Majesty's Government are anxious to terminate this 
question, the Venezuelan Government, which have sent me 
here with such a purpose, are no less prompted by the same 
earnest desire. 



87 



After the receipt of my new instructions it is not possible 
for me to treat about the draft Convention referred to, and to 
put off till another time the resumption of the negotiation for 
a new Treaty. It is incumbent upon me to forward the con- 
clusion of the latter alone, this the means not only of settHng 
the existing differences, but of laying at once and forever the 
foundations of a solid good understanding between the two 
parties, and the means, moreover, of simphf^ang the work by 
causing it to be one instead of dividing it into several. 

Upon the strength of the above, I transmit to Your Excel- 
lency the project of a Treaty which I am authorized to agree 
upon and sign as soon as Your Excellency is willing to do so. 
It is identical in most of its Articles with the Treaty of Par- 
aguay, which Your Excellency sent me as a type; and some 
alterations only have been made in the II and IVth Articles, 
and a new one has been introduced in regard to the necessity of 
arbitration as the single means of preventing any difference 
from affecting the friendly relations between the two coun- 
tries. The treaty I present, immediately after the exchange 
of its ratifications would be substituted for that of 1834 
would secure the results wished for on both sides. 

The moment it would be signed, I should communicate the 
fact by telegraph to my Government with the certainty that 
they would call upon Congress to extend its present Session 
in order to examine and approve of the compact. At all 
events the differential duties would be suppressed, so that no 
inconvenience need be apprehended in this particular. 

PROJECT OF TREATY. 

Article II. 

The Contracting Parties agree that in all matters relating to 
commerce and navigation any privilege, favor or immunity 
whatever other than those provided for under Article III, 
which either Contracting Party has actually granted or may 
hereafter grant to the subjects or citizens of any other State, 
shall be extended immediately to the subjects or citizens of 
the other Contracting Party, unconditionally, if they are un- 



88 



conditional, and under the same equivalent if they are condi- 
tional, it being their intention that the trade and navigation of 
each country shall be placed in all respects by the other, on 
the footing of the most favored nation. 

Article IV. 

British ships and their cargoes shall in the United States of 
Venezuela, and Venezuelan ships and their cargoes in the 
dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, from 
whatever place arriving and whatever may be the place of 
origin or destination of their cargoes, be treated in every re- 
spect as national ships and their cargoes. 

The preceding stipulation applies to local treatment, dues 
and charges in the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, and har- 
bors of the two countries, pilotage, and generally to all mat- 
ters connected with navigation; but it includes neither the in- 
ternal navigation of rivers nor the coasting trade. 

Every favor or exemption in these respects, or any other 
privilege in matters of navigation except in so far as the one 
provided for under Article III, which either of the Contracting 
Parties shall grant to a third Power, shall be extended imme- 
diately to the other party unconditionally, if they be uncondi- 
tional, and under the same equivalent if they be conditional. 

All vessels which according to British Law are to be deemed 
British vessels, and all vessels which according to the law of 
the United States of Venezuela are to be deemed Venezuelan 
vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, be respectively 
deemed British or Venezuelan vessels. 

(Extract.) 

Article XVI. 

If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between Ven- 
ezuela and Great Britain any difference which cannot be ad- 
justed b}^ the usual means of friendly negotiation, the Con- 
tracting Parties agree to submit the decision of said differ- 
ence to the arbitration of a third Power, in amity with both, 
without resorting to war. 



89 



Article XVIL. 

The present Treaty, which from the date of the exchange 
of its ratifications shall be substituted for the one concluded 
between Colombia and Great Britain on the iSth April, 
1825, and renewed with Venezuela on the 29th October, 
1834, shall continue in force during ten years counted from 
the above date, and in case neither of the two Contracting Par- 
ties shall have given notice twelve months before the expira- 
tion of the said period of ten years of their intention of ter- 
minatmg the present Treaty, it shall remain in force until the 
expiration of one year from the date on which either of the 
Contracting Parties shall have given such notice. 



Earl Granville to General Guzman Blanco. 

Foreign Affairs, April 15, 1885. 

M. le Ministre: 

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note 
of the 6th instant, informing me that you are unable to sign 
the proposed Convention for regulating ad interim^ until the 
negotiation of a full Treaty, the differences which have arisen 
as to the interpretation of the existing Treaties between Great 
Britain and Venezuela. Her Majesty's Government are of 
opinion that the proposed Convention would have been the 
more expeditious way of deaHng with the question, but they 
are desirous of meeting the wishes of your Government as 
far as possible, and agree to the immediate conclusion of a full 
Treaty. They note with satisfaction the assurance which you 
gi^^e that the Treaty can be ratified during the present Ses- 
sion of the Venezuelan Legislature. 

The proposal to settle by arbitration questions which may 
arise between the countries meets with the entire concurrence 
of Her Majesty's Government. Experience has shown, how- 
ever, that when a difference has once arisen, it is often difficult 
to come to an understanding as to the course to be followed 
respecting the actual selection of the Arbitrator or Arbitrators, 



90 



and respecting the procedure of the Arbitration Commission 
or Tribunal when appointed. Her Majesty's Government 
suggest, therefore, the adoption of the fuller Article added as 
a Protocol to the Treaty of the I5lh June, 1883, between Her 
Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King of Italy. I 
have the honour to inclose a copy of that Treaty. 

The proposed 11 and IVth Articles inclosed in your above 
mentioned note of the 6th instant would grant to the trade 
and commerce of the High Contracting Parlies a conditional 
most-favoured-nation treatment only. The policy pursued by 
Her Majesty's Government in matters of commercial and 
economic legislation is such that it appears to them that no 
condition of the nature proposed can be required by Vene- 
zuela in respect of British trade in the Republic; and they, on 
their part, desire under all circumstances to extend to Vene- 
zuelan trade every favour or privilege they may grant to any 
other Power. You are, no doubt, aware that in this country 
every protective restriction or duty has been repealed. Cus- 
toms duties are levied only for the purpose of raising revenue;, 
and where they are levied on foreign goods which are also 
produced in the United Kingdom, a corresponding excise or 
inland duty is levied on the home-produced article. Even the 
coasting trade and the trade between the mother-country and 
the Colonies is entirely open to foreigners and foreign ships. 
And, finally, any concession made to one Power is immediately 
and inconditionally extended to all others, even to Powers hav- 
ing no Commercial Treaty with Great Britain. The interests 
of Venezuela in the self-governing Colonies are sufficiently 
protected by the Article relating to the Colonies as any such 
Colony acceding to the Treaty, and thus becoming entitled to 
absolute most-favoured-nation treatment for its trade in Vene- 
zuela would be bound to give similar treatment to Venezuelan 
trade. 

Great Britain, having already made every possible conces- 
sion to foreign trade, would not be able to make the equiva- 
lent or similar concessions required by the Articles proposed 
on behalf of Venezuela. It would in each case be found that 



91 



she had ah-eady granted freely and unconditionally the very 
favour which had been purchased by a Power pursuing less 
liberal commercial policy. 

1 trust that a consideration of these circumstances will con- 
vince you, M. le Ministre, that the restricted most-favored- 
nation clauses proposed are not required in a Treaty with 
Great Britain, and that you will thus be able to agree to their 
standing as in the Treaty with Paraguay. 

I am &c., 

Granville. 



General Giizmdn Blanco to Earl Granville. — {Received May 12.) 

[Translation.] 

194 Queen's Gate, London, May 6, 1885. 

My Lord: 

I have had the honour of receiving your dispatch of the 
15th ultimo in answer to mine of the 6th. 

Your Excellency assents, for which I am most thankful, to 
my proposal of proceeding at once to conclude a full Treaty 
involving also the settlement of the differences arising out 
of the Venezuelan Decree, by which an additional duty upon 
the importations from the Antilles was created. 

Your remarks refer to the arbitration and the most-favoured- 
nation x\rticles. 

As to the former I suggested this wording: 

" If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between Ven- 
ezuela and Great Britain any difference which cannot be ad- 
justed by the usual means of friendly negotiation, the two Con- 
tracting Parties agree to submit the decision of said difference 
to the arbitration of a third Power in amity with both with- 
out resorting to war." 

Your Excellency assures me thst the proposal to settle by 
arbitration questions which may arise between the countries 
meets with the entire concurrence of Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment, and, after remarking that experience has shown that 



92 



Avhen a difference has once arisen, it is often difficult to come 
to an understanding as to the course to be followed respect- 
ing the actual selection of the Arbitrator or Arbitrators, and 
respecting the procedure of the Arbitration Commission or 
Tribunal when appointed, suggests the adoption of the fuller 
Article ad(led as a Protocol to the Treaty of the 15th June, 
18S3, between Her Majesty the Qaeen and His Majesty the 
King of Ital3\ 

This Protocol runs thus: — 
Any controversies which may arise respecting the inter- 
pretation or the execution of the present Treaty or the con- 
sequences of any violation thereof, shall be submitted, when 
the means of settling them directly by amicable agreement are 
exhausted, to the decision of Commissions of Arbitration, and 
that the result of such arbitration shall be binding upon both 
Governments. 

" The members of such Commissions shall be selected by 
the two Governments by common consent, failing which each 
of the parties shall nominate an Arbitrator, or an equal num- 
bt;r of Arbitrators, and the Arbitrators thus appointed shall 
select an umpire. 

" The procedure of the arbitration shall in each case be 
determined by the Contracting parties, failing which the 
Commission of Arbitration shall be itself entitled to determine 
it beforehand." 

This concerns only the controversies arising out of the 
interpretation or execution of the Treaty to be concluded, but 
not those emanating from another source. On the other 
hand, it seems that the Commissions of Arbitration spoken of 
will not consist of Powers, but of private persons. 

Now, the clause which the Federal Constitution of the 
Republic prescribes for her guidance is as follows: — 

Article 109. In the International Treaties of Commerce 
and Amity there shall be inserted a clause to the effect that 
all differences between the Contracting Parties shall be de- 
cided without appeal to war by the arbitration of a friendly 
Power, or of friendly Powers." 



93 



Venezuela has agreed thereto with the United States of 
Colombia, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, San Salvador, and 
Bolivia. 

In conformity with that Article I wrote the one stipulating 
for arbitration in a general way, and with reference to third 
Powers. 

I think that, owing to the above reflections, Your Excel- 
lency will find me justified in again calling your attention to 
the wording of the arbitration clause, in the hope that it may 
bring about every desirable result. 

Moreover, I fain agree to what, in connection with the pro- 
cedure, is suggested by Your Excellency as a means of sup- 
plying the deficiencies shown by experience. 

Proceeding now to consider the most-favored-nation clause, 
it is incumbent upon me to remind Your Excellency that 
Venezuela has not yet reached such a development as to be 
able to enter upon the financial system adopted by Great 
Britain. 

So her legislation rests upon contrary principles and it 
would require to change it radically to give room to the new 
Britannic system. 

For instance, the i8th Law of her Fiscal Code defines thus 
the coasting trade : — 

" Interior maritime coasting trade is that carried on from 
ports of entry and points on the Venezuelan coast by national 
vessels transporting foreign goods which have paid the duties 
levied thereon, or produce the growth of the country." 

In accordance with that, in a treaty between Venezuela and 
Spain of the 20th May, 1885, it was stipulated that the coast- 
ing trade of the respective countries should remain exclusively 
reserved to the national flag; and so on in other Treaties. 

There are among nations special grounds which make them 
determine upon certain acts. I will quote an example from a 
Treaty signed between Venezuela and New Granada on the 
23rd July, 1842, the XXVI article of which is to the follow- 
ing effect:—- 

" The Republic of Venezuela and the Repubhc of New 



94 



Granada, with a view to prevent any interpretation contrary 
to their intentions, do hereby declare that any advantages 
which both or either of them may derive from the foregoing 
stipulations are and must be understood to be a natural result 
of the political connections they formed when before united 
in a single body of nation, and as a compensation for the 
alliance they have entered into to support their independence." 

Here are not one but several reasons which justified the 
granting of exceptional favours by each of the two Republics 
to the other, and another highly important reason may be 
added anent the navigation of some of them traversing the 
territory of both nations or receiving affluents from each 
other. 

In such a case there would be no ground for extending the 
stipulations required by the same to third Powers differently 
circumstanced. 

I come, therefore, to the conclusion that, so long as Vene- 
zuela does not attain to the stage of development and pros- 
perity at which Great Britain has arrived, it is not possible 
for the former to agree upon that clause as desired by Your 
Excellency. 

Such being the case, I propose either to preserve the IXth 
Article in the old Colombian Treaty, or to leave out the word 
*' unconditionally " in the Ilnd and Ilird Article in the Para- 
guayan Treaty, and the word " rivers in the Ilird, adding 
that the coasting trade is not included in the concessions 
therein expressed. 

I remain, &c., 

Guzman Blanco. 



Earl Granville to General Guzman Blajico. 

Foreign Office, May 15, 1885. 

M. le Ministre : 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, on the 12th 
instant, of your note dated the 6th instant respecting the pro- 
posed new treaty between Great Britain and Venezuela. 



95 



» 



In reply, I have the honor to inform you that Her Majesty's 
Governmert agree to the substitution of the phrase *' Power " 
to be chosen by the High Contracting Parties instead of "Ar- 
bitrators " in the Article respecting arbitration, and that they 
further agree that the undertaking to refer differences to 
arbitration shall include all differences which may arise be- 
tween the High Contracting Parties, and not those only which 
arise on the interpretation of the Treaty. 

Her Majesty's Government are also prepared to meet gen- 
erally the wishes of the Venezuelan Government as to river 
navigation and coasting trade as connected with it; but I beg 
leave to point out that this exception to most-favored-nation 
or national treatment should not interfere with ocean-going 
steamers touching consecutively at two or more ports of the 
Republic. 

With regard to the arrangements made by Venezuela with 
Colombia, I have the honor to state that Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment will agree that the provisions of the most-favored- 
nation article proposed by them shall not include special ar- 
rangements with regard to local trade entered into by Vene- 
zuela with respect to traffic across the land frontier. 

I trust that these modifications will meet your views, and 
that I may shortly hear from you that a formal draft Treaty 
framed on that with Paraguay, with the addition of an Article 
respecting arbitration and the alterations in the most-favored- 
nation stipulations now suggested, may be prepared for your 
approval. I am, &c., 

Granville. 

General Giizmmi Blanco to Earl Granville. 
[Translation.] 
194 Queen's Gate, London, June 8, 1885. 

My Lord: 

I have with much satisfaction received Your Excellency's 
dispatch of the 15th ultimo, by which Your Excellency is 
pleased to inform me that Her Majesty's Government agree to 



96 



the substitution of the phrase " Power " to be chosen by the 
High Contracting Parties instead of "Arbitrators " in the Ar- 
ticle respecting " arbitration," and that they further agree that 
the undertaking to refer differences to arbitration shall include 
all differences which may arise between the High Contracting 
Parties, and not those only which arise on the interpretation of 
the Treaty. 

Your Excellency adds that Her Majesty's Government are 
also prepared to meet generally the wishes of the Venezuelan 
Government as to river navigation and coasting trade as con- 
nected with it, but on the understanding that this exception to 
most-favored-nation or national treatment should not interfere 
with ocean-going steamers touching consecutively at two or 
more ports of the Republic. 

Your Excellency states finally that Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment will agree that the provisions of the most-favored-nation 
Article proposed by them shall not include special arrange- 
ments entered into by Venezuela with neighboring countries 
with respect to traffic across the land frontier. 

These premises being set down and taking into account, 
with reference to river navigation and coasting trade, that the 
Fiscal Laws of the Republic permit foreign vessels to take 
cargoes or passengers to two or more authorized ('^ habili- 
tados") ports, or to receive them there, I see that the nego- 
tiation is about to terminate satisfactorily. 

Upon the understanding, therefore, that we agree as to the 
points expressed and those which have not been made the 
subject of any particular remark, 1 hope that Your Excellency, 
according the closing part of your note, will deign to have 
prepared and sent to me for examination a formal draft Treaty 
framed on that concluded between Great Britain and Paraguay 
on the i8th October, 1884, results of the negotia- 

tion we have pursued. 

In order to faciUtate the accompHshment of such a work, I 
beg leave to enclose a draft Treaty elaborated upon the afore- 
said basis. I renew, &c., 

Guzman Blanco. 



97 



Inclosure in No. 78. 

Draft Treaty betzveeii Great Britain and Venezuela. 

The Government of the United States of Venezuela, and 
the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, being desirous of put- 
ting an end to the differences which have arisen respecting the 
meaning of certain stipulations in the Treaty betw^een the Re- 
public of Colombia and Great Britain on the i8th April, 1825, 
which Treaty was adopted and confirmed by the Treaty be- 
tween Venezuela and Great Britain signed on the 29th Octo- 
ber, 1834, have appointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries, 
to wit: the Goverment of the United States of Venezuela; 

And the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; 

Who, after having communicated to each other their full 
powers and found them in good and due form, have agreed 
upon the following Articles: — 

Article I. 

There shall be perfect peace and sincere friendship between 
the Republic of the United States of Venezuela and the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and between the sub- 
jects and citizens of both States without exception of persons 
or of places. The High Contracting Parties shall use their 
best endeavours that this friendship and good understanding 
may be constantly and perpetually maintained. 

Article II. 

The Contracting Parties agree that in all matters relating 
to commerce and navigation, any privilege, favour, or immu- 
nity whatever which either Contracting Party has actually 
granted, or may hereafter grant, to the subjects or citizens of 
any other State, shall be extended immediately to the subjects 
or citizens of the other Contracting Party; it being their in- 
tention that the trade and navigation of each country shall be 
placed, in all respects, by the other on the footing of the most 
favoured nation. 



98 



Article III. 

The produce and manufactures of, as well as all goods com- 
ing fro n:i, the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Maj- 
esty, which are imported from whatsoever place into Vene- 
zuela, and the produce and manufactures of as well as goods 
coming from Venezuela, which are imported from whatsoever 
place into the (iominions and possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, whether intended for consumption, warehousing, re- 
exportation, or transit, shall be treated in the same manner as, 
and in particular shall be subjected to no higher or other duties, 
whether general, municipal, or local, than the produce, manu- 
factures, and goods, whencesoever arriving, of any third 
country the most favoured in this respect. No other or higher 
duties shall be levied in Venezuela, on the exportation of any 
goods to the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, or in the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty on the exportation of any goods to Venezuela, than 
may be levied on the like exportation of the like goods to any 
third countr}^ the most favoured in this respect. 

Neither of the Contracting Parties shall estabhsh a prohi- 
bition of importation, exportation, or transit against the other 
which shall not, under hke circumstances, be applicable to any 
third country the most favoured in this respect. 

In like manner, in all that relates to local dues, customs, 
formalities, brokerage, patterns, or sam^ples introduced by com- 
mercial travelers, and all other matters connected with trade, 
British subjects in Venezuela, and Venezuelan citizens in the 
dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, shall en- 
joy most-favoured-nation treatment. 

Article IV. 

British ships and their cargoes shall, in the United States of 
Venezuela, and Venezuelan vessels and their cargoes shall, in 
the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, from 
whatever place arriving and whatever may be the place of 
origin or destination of their cargoes, be treated in every re- 
spect as national ships and their cargoes. 



99 



The preceding stipulation applies to local treatment, dues, 
and charges in the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, and har- 
bours of the two countries, pilotage, and generally to all mat- 
ters connected with navigation. 

Every favour or exemption in these respects or any other 
privilege in matters of navigation, which either of the Con- 
tracting Parties shall grant to a third Power, shall be extended 
immediately to the other party, but it includes neither the in- 
ternal navigation of rivers nor the coasting trade, nor special 
arrangements with regard to local trade entered into by 
Venezuela with neighbouring countries with respect to traffic 
across the land frontier. 

The vessels of the two Contracting Parties shall be at liberty 
to touch consecutively at two or more ports of the other, 
open to foreign commerce, for such purposes and under such 
requirements as have been specified and established by the 
respective laws. 

All vessels which, according to British law, are to be deemed 
British vessels, and all vessels which, according to the law of 
the United States of Venezuela, are to be deemed Venezuelan 
vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, be respectively 
•deemed British or Venezuelan vessels. 

Article V. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties 
shall have in the dominions and possessions of the other the 
same rights as natives, or as subjects or citizens of the most 
favoured nation, in regard to patents for inventions, trade- 
marks, and designs, upon fulfilment of the formalities pre- 
scribed by law. 

Article VI. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties, 
who reside permanently or temporarily in the dominions and 
possessions of the other, shall be at full liberty to exercise civil 
rights, and therefore to acquire, possess, and dispose of prop- 
erty movable and immovable . They may acquire and trans- 
mit the same to others, whether by purchase, sale, donation, 

Lore. 



100 



exchange, marriage, testament, succession ab intestato, and in 
any other manner, under the same conditions as natives of the 
country. Their heir may succeed to and take possession of 
it, either in person or by procurators, in the same manner and 
in the same legal forms as natives of the country. 

In none of these respects shall they pay upon the value of 
such property any other or higher imposts, duty, or charge than 
is payable by natives of the countr3\ In every case the sub- 
jects or citizens of the Contracting Parties shall be permitted 
to export their property, or the proceeds thereof if sold, freely 
and without being subjected on such exportation to pay any 
dut}' different from that to which natives of the country are 
liable under similar circumstances. 

Article VII. 

The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses and shops of sub- 
jects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties in the 
dominions and possessions of the other, and all premises ap- 
pertaining thereto destined for purposes of residence or com- 
merce, shall be respected. 

It shall not be allowable to proceed to make a search of, or 
a domiciliary visit to, such dwellings and premises, or to ex- 
amine or inspect books, papers, or accounts, except under the 
conditions and with the forms prescribed by the laws for 
natives of the country. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the two Contracting 
Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other shall 
have free access to the Courts of Justice for the prosecution 
and defence of their rights, without other conditions, restric- 
tions, or taxes beyond those imposed on native subjects or 
citizens, and shall, like them, be at liberty to employ, in all 
cause, their advocates, attorneys, or agents from among the 
persons admitted to the exercise of those professions accord- 
ing to the laws of the country. 

Article VIII. 

The subjects of each of the Contracting Parties in the 



I 



101 



■dominions and possessions of the other shall be exempted 
from billeting, and from all compulsory military services what- 
<jver, whether in the army, navy, or national guard, or militia. 
They shall likewise be exempted from all contributions, 
whether pecuniary or in kind, imposed as a compensation for 
billeting and tor personal service, and, finally, from forced 
loans and mihtary exactions or requisitions of any kind. 

Article IX. 

The subjects or citizens of either of the two Contracting 
l^arties residing in the dominions and possessions of the other 
shall enjoy, in regard to their houses, persons, and properties, 
the protection of Government in as full and ample a manner 
as native subjects or citizens. 

In like manner the subjects or citizens of each Contracting 
Party shall enjoy, in the dominions and possessions of the 
other, full liberty of conscience, and shall not be molested on 
account of their religious belief; and such of those subjects or 
citizens as may die in the territories of the other party shall 
be buried in the public cemeteries, or in places appointed for 
the purpose with suitable decorum and respect. 

The subjects of Her Britannic Majesty residing within the 
territories of the Republic of the United States of Venezuela 
shaXl be at liberty to exercise in private and in their own 
dw^ellings, or within the dwellings or offices of Her Britannic 
Majesty's Consuls or Vice-Consuls, or in any public edifice 
set apart for the purpose, their religious rites, services, and 
worship, and to assemble therein for that purpose without 
hindrance or molestation. 

Article X. 

Each of the Contracting Parties may appoint Consuls-Gen- 
•eral. Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular Agents 
to reside respectively in towns or ports in the dominions and 
possessions of the other Power. Such Consular officers, 
however, shall not enter upon their functions until after they 



102 



shall have been approved and admitted in the usual form by 
the Government to which they are sent. They shall exercise 
whatever functions, and enjoy whatever privileges, exemp- 
tions, and immunities are, or may hereafter be, granted there 
to Consular officers of the most favoured nation. 

Article XL 

In the event of any subject or citizen of eiiher of the two 
Contracting Parties dying without will or testament in the 
dominions and possessions of the other Contracting Party, the 
Consul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul of the nation to which 
the deceased mav belong, or, in his absence, the Representa- 
tive of such Consular officer, shall, so far as the laws of each 
country will permit, take charge of the property which the 
deceased may have left, for the benefit of his lawful heirs and 
creditors, until an executor or administrator be named by the 
said Consul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul or his Repre- 
sentative. 

Article XII. 

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular 
Agents of each of the Contracting Parties residing in the 
dominions and possessions of the other shall receive from the 
local authorities such assistance as can by law be given to 
them for the recovery of deserters from the vessels of their 
respective countries. 

Article XIII. 

Any ship of war or merchant vessel of either of the Con- 
tracting Parties which may be compelled, by stress of weather 
or by accident, to take shelter in a port of the other, shall be 
at liberty to refit therein, to procure all necessary stores, and 
to continue their voyage, without paying any dues other than 
such as would be payable in a similar case by a national 
vessel. 

In case, however, the master of a merchant vessel should 
be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchan- 



103 



dise in order to defray his expenses, he shall be bound to con- 
form to the Regulations and Tariffs of the place to which he 
may have come. 

If an\' ship of war or merchant vessel of one of the Con- 
tracting Parties should run aground or be wrecked within the 
territory of the other, such ship or vessel, and all parts thereof, 
and all furniture and appurtenances belonging thereunto, and 
all goods and merchandise saved therefrom, including any 
which may have been cast out of the ship, or the proceeds 
thereof if sold, as well as all papers found on board such 
stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, shall be given up to the 
owners or their agents when claimed by them. If there are 
no such owners or agents on the spot, then the same shall be 
delivered to the British or Venezuelan Consul-General, Consul, 
Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent in whose district the wreck 
or stranding may have taken place, upon their being claimed 
by him within the period fixed by the laws of the country, and 
such Consuls, owners, or agents shall pay only the expenses 
incurred in the preservation of the property, together with the 
salvage or other expenses which would have been payable in 
the like case of a wreck of a national vessel. 

The goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall be 
exempt from all duties of customs unless cleared for consump- 
tion, in which case the}^ shall pay the same rate of . duty as if 
they had been imported in a national vessel. 

In the case either of a vessel being driven in by stress of 
weather,run aground, or wrecked, the respective Consuls-Gen- 
eral, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents shall, if the 
owner or master or other agent of the owner is not present, 
or is present and requires it, be authorized to interpose in order 
to afford the necessary assistance to their fellow-countrymen. 

Article XIV. 

For the better security of commerce between the subjects 
of Her Britannic Majesty and the citizens of the Republic of 
the United States of Venezuela, it is agreed that if at any time 
any interruption of friendly intercourse or any rupture should 



104 



unfortunately take place between the two Contracting Parties, 
the subjects or citizens of either of the said Contracting Par- 
ties who may be established in the dominions or territories of 
the other in the exercise of any trade or special employment, 
shall have the privilege of remaining and continuing such trade 
or employment therein, without any manner of interruption, 
in full enjoyment of their liberty and property, so long as they 
behave peacefully and commit no offence against the laws; 
and their goods, property, and effects, of whatever description 
they may be, whether in their own custody or intrusted to in- 
dividuals or to the State, shall not be liable to seizure or se- 
questration, or to any other charges or demands than those 
which may be made upon the like goods, property, and effects 
belonging to native subjects or citizens. Should they, how- 
ever, prefer to leave the country, they shall be allowed to make 
arrangements for the safe keeping of their goods, propert}^ 
and effects, or to dispose of them, and to liquidate their ac- 
counts ; and a safe-conduct shall be given them to embark at 
the ports which they shall themselves select. 

Article XV. 

If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between the 
United States of Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland any differences which cannot be adjusted 
by the usual means of friendly negotiation, the two Contract- 
ing Parties agree to submit the decision of all such differences 
to the arbitration of a third Power, or of the several Powers, 
in amity with both, without resorting to war, and that the re- 
sult of such arbitration shall be binding upon both Govern- 
ments. 

The arbitrating Power or Powers shall be selected by the 
two Governments by common consent, failing which each of 
the parties shall nominate an arbitrating Power, and the Arbi- 
trators thus appointed shall be requested to select another 
Power to act as umpire. 

The procedure of the arbitration shall in each case be de- 
termined by the Contracting Parties, failing which the arbi- 



105 



trating Power or Powers shall be themselves (entitled to) de- 
termine it beforehand. 

Article XVI. 

The stipulations of the present Treaty shall be applicable 
to all the Colonies and foreign possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, so far as the laws permit, excepting to those herein- 
after named, that is to say^ except to: — 
The Dominion of Canada. 
Newfoundland. 
New South Wales. 
Victoria, 
South Australia. 
Western Australia. 
Tasmania. 
Queensland. 
New Zealand. 
The Cape. 
lN[atal. 

Provided always that the stipulations of the present Treaty 
5hall be made applicable to any of the above-named Colonies 
or foreign possessions on whose behalf notice to that effect 
shall have been given by Her Britannic Majesty's Represent- 
ative in the United States of Venezuela to the Venezuelan 
Minister for Foreign Affairs within two years from the date of 
the exchange of ratifications of the present Treaty. 

Article XVII. 

The present Treaty shall continue in force during ten years, 
•counted from the day of the exchange of the ratifications, and 
in case neither of the two Contracting Parties shall have given 
notice twelve months before the expiration of the said period 
•of ten years of their intention of terminating the present 
Treat}^ it shall remain in force until the expiration of one year 
from the day on which either of the Contracting Parties shall 
have given such notice. 



106 

Article XVIII. 

The present Treaty shall be ratified by His Excellency the 
President of the RepubHc of Venezuela and by Her Majesty 
the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ratifications 
shall be exchanged in London as soon as possible. 

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have 
signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their 
arms. 

Done in London on the day of in the 

year of our Lord 



Earl Granville to General GiLznidji Blajico. 

Foreign Office, June i8, 1885. 

M. le Ministre : 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note 
of the 8th instant, forwarding the draft of a new Treaty of 
Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between Great Britain 
and Venezuela, to replace the Treaties of 1825 and 1834, 
founded on the text of the Treaty recently concluded between 
Great Britain and Paraguay, and on correspondence which has 
passed between us. 

I have the honor to submit, for your consideration, copies of 
this document in print, in order to avoid any misapprehension; 
and I beg to offer the following observations with respect to 
them. The words inserted in italics in Articles II, VI and 
XVIII appear to have been inadvertently omitted in the copy 
inclosed in your note. The clause in italics at the end of 
Article XV would seem to render that Article more explicit, 
and to be useful for this purpose. India should be included in 
the Hst of British Colonies and foreign possessions in Article 
XVI. It was omitted in the text of the Treaty with Paraguay 
as signed, but this error has been rectified in the exchange of 
ratifications. 

I trust that the text of the proposed Treaty as printed, with 
the several corrections now specified, will meet with your con- 



107 



ciirrence, and that you will be so good as to signify your con- 
sent to them at your earliest convenience, in order that the 
draft of the proposed Treaty may be referred to the Depart- 
ments of Her Majesty's Government concerned. 

I am, &c. Granville. 



Draft Treaty bctiveen Great Britain and Venezuela. — {Com?mini- 
eated by Guz/ndn Blanco, June 8, 1885. 

The Government of the United States of Venezuela, and 
the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, being desirous of 
putting an end to the differences which have arisen respecting 
the meaning of certain stipulations in the Treaty between the 
Republic of Colombia and Great Britain of the i8th April, 
1825, which Treaty was adopted and confirmed by the Treaty 
between Venezuela and Great Britain signed on the 29th Oc- 
tober, 183.1, have appointed as their respective Plenipotentia- 
ries, to wit: 

The Government of the United States of Venezuela, 

And the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the 

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 

Who, after having communicated to each other their full 

powers, and found them in good and due form, have agreed 

upon the following Articles: 

Article I. 

There shall be perfect peace and sincere friendship between 
the Republic of the United States of Venezuela and the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and between the sub- 
jects and citizens of both vStates, without exception of persons 
or of places. The High Contracting Parties shall use their best 
endeavors that this friendship and good understanding may be 
constantly and perpetually maintained. 

Article II. 

The Contracting Parties agree that, in all matters relating 
to commerce and navigation, any privilege, favour, or immu- 



108 



niiy whatever, which either Contracting Party has actually 
granted, or may hereafter grant, to the subjects or citizens of 
any other State shall be extended immediately and uncondition- 
<illy to the subjects or citizens of the other Contracting Party; 
it being their intention that the trade and navigation of each 
countr}' shall be placed, in all respects, by the other on the 
footing- of the most favored nation. 

Article III. 

The produce and manufactures of, as well as all goods 
coming from the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, which are imported from whatsoever place into Vene- 
zuela, and the produce and manufactures of, as well as goods 
coming from Venezuela, which are imported from whatsoever 
place into the dominions and possessions of her Britannic Maj- 
-esty, whether intended for consumption, warehousing, re- 
exportation, or transit, shall be treated in the same manner as, 
and in particular shall be subjected to no higher duties, whether 
general, municipal, or local, than the produce, manufactures and 
goods, w^hencesoever arriving, of any third country the most 
favoured in this respect. No other or higher duties shall be 
levied in Venezuela on the exportation of any goods to the do- 
minions and possessions of her Britannic Majesty, or in the 
dominions and possessions of her Britannic Majesty, on the 
exportation of any goods to Venezuela, that may be levied on 
the exportation of the like goods to any third country the 
most favoured in this respect. 

Neither of the Contracting Parties shall establish a prohibi- 
tion of importation, exportation, or transit against the other 
which shall not, under like circumstances, be applicable to any 
third countr}^ the most favored in this respect. 

In like manner, in all that relates to local dues, customs, for- 
malities, brokerage, patterns, or samples introduced by com- 
mercial travelers, and all other matters connected with trade, 
British subjects in Venezuela, and Venezuelan citizens in the 
dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, shall 
enjoy most favored nation treatment. 



109 



Article IV. 

British ships and their cargoes shall, in the United States of 
Venezuela, and Venezuelan vessels and their cargoes shall, 
in the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, 
from whatever place arriving, and whatever may be the place 
of origin or destination of their cargoes, be treated in every 
respect as national ships and their cargoes. 

The preceding stipulation applies to local treatment, dues, 
and charges in the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, and har- 
bors of the two countries, pilotage, and generally to all mat- 
ters connected with navigation. 

Every favor or exemption in these respects, or any other 
privilege in matters of navigation which either of the Con- 
tracting Parties shall grant to a third Power, shall be extended 
immediately to the other party ; but it includes neither the in- 
ternal navigation of rivers nor the coasting trade nor special 
arrangements with regard to local trade entered into by Vene- 
zuela with neighboring countries with respect to traffic across 
the land frontier. 

The vessels of the two Contracting Parties shall be at lib- 
erty to touch consecutively at two or more ports of the other, 
open to foreign commerce, for such purposes and under such re- 
quirements as have been specified and established by the re- 
spective laws. 

All vessels which, according to British law, are to be deemed 
British vessels, and all vessels which, according to the law of 
the United States of Venezuela, are to be deemed Venezuelan 
vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, be respectively 
deemed British or Venezuelan vessels. 

Article V. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties 
shall have, in the dominions and possessions of the other, the 
same rights as natives, or as subjects or citizens of the most 
favoured nation, in regard topatents for inventions, trade-marks, 
and designs, upon fulfillment of the formalities prescribed by 
law. 



110 



Article VI. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties 
who reside permanently or temporarily in the dominions and 
possessions of the other, shall be at full liberty to exercise civil 
rights, and therefore to acquire, possess, and dispose of every 
description of property movable and immovable. The_v may 
acquire and transmit the same to others, whether by purchase, 
sale, donation, exchange, marriage, testament, succession ah 
infestato, and in any other manner, under the same conditions 
as natives of the countr3\ Their heirs may succeed to and 
take possession of it, either in person or by procurators, in the 
same manner and in the same legal forms as natives of the 
countr}'. 

In none of these respects shall thev pay upon the value of 
such property any other or higher impost, duty, or charge 
than is payable by natives of the country. In every case the 
subjects or citizens of the Contracting Parties shall be per- 
mitted to export their propert}-, or the proceeds thereof, if 
sold, freely and without being subjected on such exportation 
to pay any duty different from that to which natives of the 
country are liable under similar circumstances. 

Article VII. 

The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses, and shops of 
subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties in the 
dominions and possessions of the other, and all premises ap- 
pertaining thereto destined for purposes of residence* or com- 
merce, shall be respected. 

It shall not be allowable to proceed to make a search of, or 
a domiciUary visit to, such dwellings and premises, or to ex- 
amine or inspect books, papers, or accounts except under the 
conditions and with forms prescribed by the laws for natives 
of the country. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the two Contracting Par- 
ties in the dominions and possessions of the other shall have 
free access to the Courts of Justice for the prosecution and de- 
fence of their rights, without other conditions, restrictions, or 



Ill 



taxes beyond those imposed on native subjects or citizens, 
and shall, like them, be at liberty to employ in all causes their 
advocates, attorneys, or agents from among the persons ad- 
mitted to the exercise of those professions according to the 
laws of the country. 

Article VIIL 

The subjects of each of the Contracting Parties in the do- 
minions and possessions of the other shall be exempted from 
billeting and from all compulsory military service whatever, 
whether in the army, navy, national guard, or miHtia. They 
shall likewise be exempted from all contributions, whether pe- 
cuniar}^ or in kind, imposed as a compensation for billeting and 
for personal service, and finally from forced loans and military 
exactions or requisitions of any kind. 

Article IX. 

The subjects or citizens of either of the two Contracting 
Parties residing in the dominions and possessions of the other 
shall enjoy, in regard to their houses, persons, and properties 
the protection of the Government in as full and ample a man- 
ner as native subjects or citizens. 

In like manner the subjects or citizens of each Contracting 
Party shall enjoy, in the dominions and possessions of the other, 
full hberty of conscience, and shall not be molested on account 
of their religious belief; and such of those subjects or citizens 
as may die in the. territories of the other party shall be buried 
in the public cemeteries, or in places appointed for the 
purpose, with suitable decorum and respect. 

The subjects of Her Britannic Majesty residing within the 
territories of the Republic of the United States of Venezuela 
shall be at liberty to exercise in private and in their own dwell- 
ings, or within the dwellings or offices of Her Britannic Maj- 
esty's Consuls or Yice-Consuls, or in any public edifice set 
apart for the purpose, their religious rites, services, and wor- 
ship, and assemble therein for that purpose without hindrance 
or molestation. 



112 



Article X. 

Each of the Contracting Parties may appoint Consuls-Gen- 
eral, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular Agents to re- 
side respectively in towns or ports in the dominions and pos- 
sessions of the other power. Such Consular officers, however, 
shall not enter upon their functions until after they shall have 
been approved and admitted in the usual form by the Govern- 
ment to which they are sent. They shall exercise whatever 
functions, and enjoy whatever privileges, exemptions, and im- 
munities are, or may hereafter be, granted there to Consular 
officers of the most-favoured-nation. 

Article XI. 

In the event of any subject or citizen of either of the two 
Contracting Parties dying without will or testament in the do- 
minions and possessions of the other Contracting Party, the 
Consul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul of the nation to which 
the deceased may belong, or in his absence, the Representa- 
tive of such Consular officer, shall, so far as the laws of each 
country will permit, take charge of the property which the 
deceased may have left, for the benefit of his lawful heirs and 
creditors, until an executor or administrator be named, by 
the said Consul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul, or his Rep- 
resentative . 

Article XII. 

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular 
Agents of each of the Contracting Parties, residing in the do- 
minions and possessions of the other, shall receive from the 
'local authorities such assistance as can by law be given to 
them for the recovery of deserters from the vessels of their 
respective countries. 

Article XIII. 

Any ship of war or merchant vessel of either of the Con- 
tracting Parties which may be compelled, by stress of weather 
or by accident, to take shelter in a port of the other, shall be - 
at liberty to refit therein, to procure all necessary stores, and: 



113 



to continue their voyage without paying any dues other than 
such as would be payable in a similar case by a national vessel. 

In case, however, the master of a merchant vessel should be 
under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchandise 
in order to defray his expenses, he shall be bound to conform 
to the Regulations and Tariffs of the place to which he may 
have come. 

If any ship of war or merchant vessel of one of the Con- 
tracting Parties should run aground or be wrecked within the 
territory of the other, such ship or vessel, and all parts there- 
of, and all furniture and appurtenances belonging thereunto, 
and all goods and merchandise saved therefrom, including any 
which may have been cast out of the ship, or the proceeds 
thereof if sold, as well as all papers found on board such 
stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, shall be given up to the 
owners or their agents when claimed by them. If there are 
no such owners or agents on the spot, then the same shall be 
delivered to the British or Venezuelan-Consul-General, Con- 
sul, Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent in whose district the 
wreck or stranding may have taken place, upon their being 
claimed by him within the period fixed by the laws of the 
country; and such Consuls, owners, or agents shall pay only 
the expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, to- 
gether with the salvage or other expenses which would have 
been payable in the like case of a wreck of a national vessel. 

The goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall be 
exempt from all duties of customs unless cleared for consump- 
tion, in which case they shall pay the same rate of duty as if 
they had been imported in a national vessel. 

In the case either of a vessel being driven in by stress of 
weather, run aground, or wrecked, the respective Consuls- 
General, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents shall, if the owner 
or master or other agent of the owner is not present, or is 
present and requires it, be authorized to interpose in order to 
afford the necessary assistance to their fellow-countrymen. 



114 



Article XIV. 

For the better security of commerce between the subjects 
of Her Britannic Majesty and the citizens of the Republic of 
the United States of Venezuela, it is agreed that if at any time 
any interruption of friendly intercourse or any rupture should 
unfortunately take place between the two Contracting Parties, 
the subjects or citizens of either of the other said Contracting 
Parties who may be established in the dominions or territories 
of the other, in the exercise of any trade or special employ- 
ment, shall have the privilege of remaining and continuing such 
trade or employment therein without an}- manner of interrup- 
tion, in full enjoyment of their liberty and property, so long as 
they behave peacefully and commit no offense against the 
law^s; and their goods, property, and effects, of whatever de- 
scription they may be, whether in their own custody or in- 
trusted to individuals or to the State, shall not be liable to 
seizure or sequestration, or to any other charges or demands, 
than those which may be made upon the like goods, property, 
and effects belonging to native subjects or citizens. Should 
they, however, prefer to leave the country, they shall be allowed 
to make arrangements for the safe-keeping of their goods, 
property, and effects, or to dispose of them, and to liquidate 
their accounts; and a safe conduct shall be given them to em- 
bark at the port at which they shall themselves select. 

Article XV. 

If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between the 
United States of Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland any differences which cannot be adjusted 
by the usual means of friendly negotiation, the two Contract- 
ing Parties agree to submit the decision of all such differences 
to the arbitration of a third Power, or of several Powers in 
amity with both, without resorting to war, and the result of 
such arbitration shall be binding upon both Governments. 

The arbitrating Power or Powers shall be selected by the 
two Governments by common consent, failing which each 



.115 



of the Parties shall nominate an arbitrating Power, and the 
Arbitrators thus appointed shall be requested to select another 
Power to act as umpire. 

The procedure of the arbitration shall in each case be 
determined by the Contracting Parties, failing which the 
arbitrating Power or Powers shall be themselves (entitled to) 
determine it beforehand. 

The award of the Arbitrators shall be carried out as speedily 
■as ^possible in cases where such award does not specifically lay 
down a date. 

Article XVI. 

The stipulations of the present Treaty shall be applicable 
to all the Colonies and foreign possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, so far as the laws permit, excepting to those herein- 
after named, that is to say, except to: 

The Dominion of Canada. 

Newfoundland. 

New South Wales. 

Victoria. 

South Australia. 

Western Australia. 

Tasmania. 

Queensland. 

"New Zealand, 

The Cape. 

Natal. 

India. 

Provided always, that the stipulations of the present Treaty 
;shall be made applicable to any of the above named Colonies 
or foreign possessions on whose behalf notice to that effect 
shall have been given by Her Britannic Majesty's Represen- 
i;atives in the United States of Venezuela to the Venezuelan 
Minister for Foreign Affairs within two years from the date 
.of the present Treaty. 

Article XVII. 

The present Treaty shall continue in force during ten 



116 



years, counted from the day of the exchange of the ratifica- 
tions; and in case neither of the two Contracting Parties shall 
have given notice twelve months before the expiration of the 
said period of ten years of their intention of terminating the 
present Treaty, shall remain in force until the expiration of 
one year from the day on which either of the Contracting 
Parties shall have given such notice. 

Article XVIII. 

The present Treaty shall be ratified by His Excellency the 
President of the Republic of the United States of Venezuela, 
and by Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland,, 
and the ratifications shall be exchanged in London as soon as 
possible. 

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have 
signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their 
arms. 

Done in London on the day of , in the year of 

our Lord 



General Gicz?nd?i Blanco to Earl Grajiville. — {^Received June ^5.) 

194 Queen's Gate, London, June 22, 1885. 

My Lord: 

I have had the honour of receiving Your Excellency's de- 
spatch of the 1 8th, accompanying a copy in print of a draft 
Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between 
the United States of Venezuela and Great Britain, with cer- 
tain corrections to which Your Excellency asks me to express^ 
my consent, in order to avoid any misapprehension. 

I proceed accordingly to reply that I see no objections to 
adding to Article VI "every description of"; to Article XV 
*' the award of the Arbitrators shall be carried out as speedily 
as possible in cases where such award does not specifically 
lay down a date"; and to Article XVI " India"; and to Article 
XVIII " of the United States of." 



117 



But I am not allowed to retain in Article II the words "and 
mnconditional," which I omitted on purpose for reasons ex- 
plained in the correspondence. 

On the contrary, I must ask for the reinsertion of the fol- 
lowing words of my Article XVII — " which, from the date of 
the exchange of its ratifications, shall be substituted for the one 
<:oncluded between Colombia and Great Britain on the i8th 
April, 1825, and renewed with Venezuela on the 29th Octo- 
ber, 1834." I consider the re-establishment of that incident 
-clause to be essential, for, if left out, a doubt at least would 
remain as to the repeal of the old Treaty, notwithstanding the 
differences between the same and the draft referred to. 

Tlie two preceding suggestions being admitted, the con- 
clusion of the Treaty may be proceeded with. 

I remain, &c. 

(Signed) Guzman Blanco. 



G£Ji£ral Giizmdji Blajico to Sir J. Pauncefote. 

The Venezuelan Minister presents his compliments to Sir 
Julian Pauncefote, and, with reference to the remarks made 
yesterday by the latter as to the draft Treaty between the two 
countries, has the honour to reply that Lord Granville, the 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in a note of the 15th 
May, 1885, wrote to this Legation as follows: — 

" In reply, I have the honour to inform you that her Maj- 
esty's Government agree to the substitution of the phrase 
^ Power ' to be chosen by the High Contracting Parties in- 
stead of 'Arbitrators' in the Article respecting 'arbitra- 
tion'; and that they further agree that the undertaking to 
refer differences to arbitration shall include all differences which 
may arise between the High Contracting Parties, and not 
those only which arise on the interpretation of the Treaty." 

Let it be permitted to remember the words of Lord Salis- 
bury, the present Prime Minister, and Her British Majesty's 
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in stating 



lis 



before the House of Lords, on the 6th instant, the policy of 
his Government : — 

" It is not our business now to enter on controversial ques- 
tions which may formerly have been raised. And still more, 
your Lordships will observe the very material restriction on 
our action and on our statements which arises from tlie fact 
that w^e have come into these matters right in the middle of 
them, and we are finishing or furnishing the end of that which 
others have begun. The consequence of that is that many 
pledges have been given, and the first duty of any Govern- 
ment, whether it is fresh or has lasted for a considerable time, 
or from whatever side of the House or part}' it is drawn, is to 
see that the pledges which the English Government have 
given, shall be observed." 

Her Majesty's Government have adopted on several occa- 
sions, for questions about territory, as the happiest solution of 
them, arbitration with the United States in 1S27 and 187 1, by 
Treaties in which two territorial disputes were referred re- 
spectively to the King of the Netherlands and to the Emperor 
of Germany. The judgment of the former produced no effect, 
the Arbitrator not having conformed to the terms of the com- 
promise, and the parties settled afterwards the difficulty in 
1842 by friendly agreement. The award of the latter was 
pronounced on the 21st April, 1872, and accepted and acted 
upon b}' the two nations concerned. In the second case, the 
Memorial presented by the American Plenipotentiary, George 
Bancroft, says: — 

" Six times the United States had received the offer of ar- 
bitration on their northwestern boundary, and six times had 
refused to refer a point where the importance was so great 
and the right so clear." 

In regard to the other point mentioned by Sir Julian, Gen- 
eral Guzman Blanco repeats that he has proposed, as to the 
most-favored-nation clause, to suppress the word " uncondi- 
tionally " only, for a new country like Venezuela needs to 
remain able to make particular concessions in exchange for 
those from other Powers, as a means of obtaining the advan- 



119 



tages required by her natural aspirations for progress, and 
which she could not acquire unless by paying equivalents. 
194 Queen's Gate, London, July 22, 1885. 



The Marquis of Salisbury to General Guzman Blanco. 

Foreign Office, July 27, 1885. 

M. le Mifiistre: 

I have the honour to state that Her Majesty's Government 
have given their earnest consideration to the draft Treaty of 
Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation, the terms of v^^hich 
were in process of negotiation at the time of their accession 
to office; they have also had under their consideration the note 
which you were so good as to address to Earl Granville on the 
2 2d ultimo. 

I regret to have to inform you that Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment cannot meet your wishes with regard to the omission of 
the word "unconditionally" in the most-favored-nation clauses. 
They hold that those clauses have the same meaning, whether 
that word be inserted or not; but the present correspondence 
shows that the Venezuelan Government think otherwise and 
are of opinion that without it it would be competent for Vene- 
zuela to withhold from Great Britain any concession granted 
by the Republic to any third Power in consideration of some 
favour or concession received from it, unless Great Britain 
were to grant the like favour or concession to Venezuela. In 
his note of the 15th April, Earl Granville explained that it 
might not be in the power of Her Majesty's Government to 
grant the favour or concesssion granted by the third Power, 
and considering the freedom of trade, and the total absence of 
differential duties in this country, Her Majesty's Government 
consider that they are entitled to claim most-favoured-nation 
treatment from Venezuela. They are prepared, however, to 
consider whether it would be possible to consent to the exclu- 
sion from the most-favored-nation Articles of any particular 
favour which the Venezuelan Government might propose to 
except, as it may be found that they consist of local privileges 



120 



of importance only to the States contiguous to Venezuela. 
Such exceptions would not materially interfere with the gen- 
eral principal of most-favoured-nation treatment from which 
Her Majesty's Government are unwilling to derogate. 

Her Majesty's Government are unable to concur in the as- 
sent given by their predecessors in office to the General Arbi- 
tration Article proposed by Venezuela, and they are unable to 
agree to the inclusion in it of matter other than those arising 
out of the interpretation or alleged violation of this particular 
Treat3\ To engage to refer to arbitration all disputes and 
controversies whatsoever would be without precedent in the 
Treaties made by Great Britain. Questions might arise, such 
as those involving the title of the British Crown to territory 
or other sovereign rights which Her Majesty's Government 
could not pledge themselves beforehand to refer to arbitration. 

I have the honour to inclose a printed copy of the Treaty 
with the amendments considered to be essential by Her Maj- 
esty's Government. 

You will observe that some other but minor alterations have 
been made, but these are mostly matters of form, and call for 
no particular remark. 

I have, &c., 
(Signed) Salisbury. 



Draft Treaty between Great Britabi a?id Venezuela. 

The President of the United States of Venezuela and Her 
Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
and Ireland, Empress of India, being desirous of concluding a 
Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, to be sub- 
stituted for the Treaty between the Republic of Colombia and 
Great Britain of the i8th April, 1825, which Treaty was 
adopted and confirmed by the Treaty between Venezuela and 
Great Britain signed on the 29th October, 1834, have ap- 
pointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries for that purpose, 
namely : 

The President of the United States of Venezuela, 



121 



And Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, 

Who, after having communicated to each other their full 
powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the 
following Articles: — 

Article I. 

There shall be perfect peace and sincere friendship between 
the United States of Venezuela and the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland, and between the subjects and citi- 
zens of both States, without exception of persons or of places. 
The High Contracting Parties shall use their best endeavours 
that this friendship and good understanding may be constantly 
and perpetually maintained. 

Article II. 

The Contracting Parties agree that, in all matters relating 
to commerce and navigation, any privilege, favour or immunity 
whatever, which either Contracting Party has actually granted, 
or may hereafter grant, to the subjects or citizens of any other 
State, shall be extended immediately and unconditionally to the 
subjects or citizens of the other Contracting Party; it being 
their intention that the trade and navigation of each country 
shall be placed, in all respects, by the other on the footing of 
the most favoured nation. 

Article III. 

The produce and manufactures of, as well as all goods com- 
ing from, the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, which are imported from whatsoever place into Ven- 
ezuela, and manufactures, as well as goods coming from Vene- 
zuela, which are imported from whatsoever place into the 
dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, whether 
intended for consumption, warehousing, re-exportation, or 
transit, shall be treated in the same manner as, and in partic- 
ular shall be subjected to no higher or other duties, whether 
general, municipal, or local, than the produce, manufactures, 
and goods whencesoever arriving, of any third country the 



122 

most favoured in this respect. No other or higher duties shall 
be levied in^Venezuela on the exportation of any goods to the 
dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, or in the 
dominions and [possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, on the 
exportation of any goods to Venezuela, than may be levied on 
the exportation of the like goods to any third country the most 
favoured in this respect. 

Neither of the Contracting Parties shall establish a prohibi- 
tion of importation, exportation, or transit against the other 
which shall not, under like circum.stances, be applicable to any 
third country the most favoured in this respect. 

In like manner, in all that relates to local dues, customs, 
formalities, brokerage, patterns or samples introduced by com- 
mercial travelers, and all other matters connected w^ith trade, 
British subjects in Venezuela, and Venezuelan citizens in the 
dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, shall en- 
jo}^ most-favoured-nation treatment. 

Article IV. 

British ships and their cargoes shall, in the United States of 
Venezuela, and Venezuelan vessels and their cargoes shall, in 
the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, from 
whatever place arriving, and whatever may be the place of 
origin or destination of their cargoes, be treated in every re- 
spect as national ships and their cargoes. 

The preceding stipulation applies to local treatment, dues 
and charges in the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, harbours, 
and rivers of the two countries, pilotage, and generally to all 
matters connected with navigation. 

Every favour or exemption in these respects, or any other 
privilege in matters of navigation, which either of the Con- 
tracting Parties shall grant to a third Power, shall be ex- 
tended immediately to the other Party; but it includes neither 
the internal navigation of rivers nor the coasting trade, nor 
special arrangements with regard to local trade entered into 
by Venezuela with neighbouring countries with respect to 
traffic across the land frontier. 



123 



The vessels of the two Contracting Parties shall be at lib-- 
erty to touch consecutively at two or more ports of the other,, 
open to foreign commerce, for such purposes and under such 
requirements as have been specified and established by the 
respective laws. 

All vessels which, according to British law, are to be 
deemed British vessels, and all vessels which, according to 
the law of the United States of Venezuela, are to be deemed 
Venezuelan vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, be 
respectively deemed British or Venezuelan vessels. 

Article V. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties 
shall have, in the dominions and possessions of the other, the 
same rights as natives, or as subjects or citizens of the most 
favoured nation, in regard to patents for inventions, trade- 
marks, and designs, upon fulfillment of the formalities pre- 
scribed by law. 

Article VI. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties 
who reside permanently or temporarily in the dominions and 
possessions of the other shall be at full liberty to exercise civil 
rights, and therefore to acquire, possess, and dispose of every 
description of property, movable and immovable. They may 
acquire and transmit the same to others, whether by purchase, 
sale, donation, exchange, marriage, testament, succession ab 
intestato^ and in any other manner, under the same conditions 
as natives of the country. Their heirs may succeed to and 
take possession of it, either in person or by procurators, in the 
same manner and in the same forms as natives of the countr^^ 

In none of these respects shall they pay upon the value of 
such property any other or higher impost, duty, or charge 
than is payable by natives of the country. In every case the 
subjects or citizens of ths Contracting Parties shall be per- 
mitted to export their property, or the proceeds thereof, if 
sold, freely, and without being subjected on such exportation 



124 



to pay any duty different from that to which natives of the 
country are liable under similar circumstances. 

Article VII. 

The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses, and shops of 
subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties in the 
dominions and possessions of the other, and all premises ap- 
pertaining thereto destined for purposes of residence or com- 
merce, shall be respected. 

It shall not be allowable to proceed to make a search of, or 
a domiciliary visit to, such dwellings and premises, or to 
examine or inspect books, papers, or accounts, except under 
the conditions and with the forms prescribed by the laws for 
natives of the country. 

The subjects or citizens of each of the two Contracting 
Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other shall 
have free access to the Courts of Justice for the prosecution 
and defence of their rights, without other conditions, restric- 
tions, or taxes beyond those imposed on native subjects or 
citizens, and shall, like them, be at liberty to employ in all 
causes their advocates, attorneys, or agents from among the 
persons admitted to the exercise of those professions accord- 
ing to the laws of the country. 

Article VIII. 

The subjects of the Contracting Parties in the dominions 
and possessions of the other shall be exempted from billeting 
and from all compulsory military service whatever, whether 
in the army, navy, or national guard or militia. They shall 
likewise be exempted from all contributions, whether pecu- 
niary or in kind, imposed as a compensation for billeting and 
for personal service, and finally from forced loans and military 
exactions or requisitions of any kind. 

Article IX. 

The subjects or citizens of either of the two Contracting 
Parties residing in the dominions and possessions of the other 
shall enjoy, in regard to their houses, persons, and properties, 



125 



the protection of the Government in as full and ample a man- 
ner as native subjects or citizens. 

In like manner the subjects or citizens of each Contracting 
Party shall enjoy in the dominions and possessions of the 
other full Hberty of conscience, and shall not be molested on^ 
account of their religious belief; and such of those subjects 
or citizens as may die in the territories of the other party shall 
be buried in the public cemeteries, or in places appointed for 
the purpose, with suitable decorum and respect. 

The subjects of Her Britannic Majesty residing within the- 
territories of the Republic of the United States of Venezuela' 
shall be at liberty to exercise in private and in their own^ 
dwellings, or within the dwellings or offices of Her Britannic 
Majesty's Consuls or Vice-Consuls, or on any public edifice 
set apart for the purpose of their religious rites, services, and 
worship, and to assemble therein for that purpose without- 
hindrance or molestation. 

Article X. 

Each of the Contracting Parties may appoint Consuls- 
General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular 
Agents to reside respectively in towns or ports in the domin- 
ions and possessions of the other Power. Such Consular 
officers, however, shall not enter upon their functions until- 
after they shall have been approved and admitted in the usuah 
form by the Government to which they are sent. They shall 
exercise whatever functions, and enjoy whatever privileges, 
exemptions, and immunities as are, or may hereafter be, 
granted there to Consular officers of the most favoured 
nation. 

Article XI. 

In the event of any subject or citizen of either of the two- 
Contracting Parties dying without will or testament in the do- 
minions and possessions of the other Contracting Party, the Con- 
sul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul of the nation to which the 
deceased may belong, or in his absence the Representative ofc 



126 



such Consular officer, shall, so far as the laws of each country 
will permit, take charge of the property which the deceased 
may have left, for the benefit of his lawful heirs and creditors, 
until an executor or administrator be named, by the said 
Consul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul, or his Represen- 
tative. 

Article XII. 

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular 
Agents of each of the Contracting Parties, residing in the do- 
minions and possessions of the other, shall receive from the 
local authorities such assistance as can by law be given to 
tbem for the recovery of deserters from the vessels of their 
respective countries. 

Article XIII. 

Any ship of war or merchant-vessel of either of the Con- 
tracting Parties which may be compelled, by stress of weather 
or by accident to take shelter in a port of the other, shall be 
at liberty to refit therein, to procure all necessary stores, and 
to continue their voyage without paying any dues other than 
such as would be payable in a similar case by a national 
vessel. 

In case, however, the master of a merchant-vessel should 
be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchan- 
dise in order to defray his expenses, he shall be bound to con- 
form to the Regulations and Tariffs of the place to which he 
may have come. 

If any ship of war or merchant-vessel of one of the Con- 
tracting Parties should run aground or be wrecked within 
the territory of the other, such ship or vessel, and all parts 
thereof, and all furniture and appurtenances belonging there- 
unto, and all goods and merchandise saved therefrom, includ- 
ing any which may have been cast out of the ship, or the 
proceeds thereof if sold, as well as all papers found on board 
such stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, shall be given up to 
the owners or their agents when claimed by them. If there 
are no such owners or agents on the spot, then the same shall 



127 



be delivered to the British or Venezuelan Consul-General, 
Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent in whose district the 
wreck or stranding may have taken place, upon their being 
claimed by him within the period fixed by the laws of the 
country; and such Consuls, owners, or agents shall pay only 
the expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, to- 
gether with the salvage or other expenses which would have 
been payable in the like case of a wreck of a national vessel. 

The goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall be 
exempt from all duties of customs unless cleared for consump- 
tion, in which case they shall pay the same rate of duty as if 
they had been imported in a national vessel. 

In the case either, of a vessel being driven in by stress of 
weather, run aground, or wrecked, the respective Consuls- 
General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents shall, 
if the owner or master or other agent of the owner is not 
present, or is present and requires it, be authorized to inter- 
pose in order to afford the necessary assistance to their fellow- 
countrymen. 

Article XIV. 

For the better security of commerce between the subjects 
of Her Britannic Majesty and the citizens of the Republic of 
the United States of Venezuela, it is agreed that if at any 
time any interruption of friendly intercourse or any rupture 
should unfortunately take place between the two Contracting 
Parties, the subjects or citizens of either of the said Contract- 
ing Parties who may be estabUshed in the dominions or terri- 
tories of the other, in the exercise of any trade or special 
employment, shall have the privilege of remaining and con- 
tinuing such trade or employment therein, without any manner 
of interruption, in full enjoyment of their liberty and property, 
so long as they behave peacefully and commit no offence 
against the laws ; and their goods, property, and effects, of 
whatever description they may be, whether in their own 
custody or intrusted to individuals or to the State, shall not be 
liable to seizure or sequestration, or to any other charges Oj- 



128 



demands, than those which may be made upon the Hke goodSy 
property, and effects belonging to native subjects or citizens. 
Should they, however, prefer to leave the country, they shall 
be allowed to make arrangements for the safe-keeping of 
their goods, property, and effects, or to dispose of them, and 
to liquidate their accounts; and a safe conduct shall be given 
them to embark at the port which they shall themselves 
select. 

Article XV. 

If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between the 
United States of Venezuela and Great Britain any contro- 
versies respecting the interpretation or the execution of the 
present Treaty, or the consequence of any violation thereof, 
the two Contracting Parties agree to submit the decision of 
all such differences to the arbitration of a third Power, or of 
several Powers in amity with both, and that the result of such 
arbitration shall be binding upon both Governments. 

The arbitrating power or powers shall be selected by the 
two Governments by common consent, failing which, each of 
the parties shall nominate an arbitrating Power, and the arbi- 
trators thus appointed shall be requested to select another 
Power to act as Umpire. 

The procedure of the arbitration shall in each case be de- 
termined by the Contracting Parties, failing which the arbi- 
trating Power or Powers shall be themselves entitled to deter- 
mine it beforehand. 

The award of the Arbitrators shall be carried out as speedily 
as possible in cases where such award does not specifically 
lay down a date. 

Article XVI. 

The stipulations of the present Treaty shall be applicable 
to all the Colonies and foreign possessions of Her Britannic 
Majesty, so far as the laws permit, excepting to those herein- 
after named, that is to say, except to — 

India. 

The Dominion of Canada. 



129 



Newfoundland. 

New South Wales. 

Victoria. 

South Australia. 

Western Australia. 

Tasmania. 

Queensland. 

New Zealand. 

The Cape. 

Natal. 

Provided always that the stipulations of the present Treaty 
shall be made applicable to any of the above-named Colonies 
or foreign possessions on whose behalf notice to that effect 
shall have been given by her Britannic Majesty's Representa- 
tive in the United States of Venezuela to the Venezuelan 
Minister for Foreign Affairs within two years from the date 
of the exchange of ratification of the present treaty. 

Article XVII. 

The present Treaty, which from the date of the exchange 
of its ratification shall be substituted for that concluded be- 
tween Colombia and Great Britain on the i8th April, 1825, 
and adopted and confirmed with Venezuela on the 29th Oc- 
tober, 1834, shall continue in force during ten years, counted 
from the day of the exchange of the ratifications; and in case 
neither of the two Contracting Parties shall have given notice 
twelve months before the expiration of the said period of ten 
years of their intention of terminating the present Treaty, it 
shall remain in force until the expiration of one year from the 
day on which either of the Contracting Parties shall have 
given such notice. 

Article XVIII. 

The present Treaty shall be ratified by his Excellency the 
President of the United States of Venezuela, and by Her 
Britannic Majesty, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in 
London as soon as possible. 



180 



In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have 
signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seal of their 
arms. 

Done in London on the day of , in the year of our 
Lord 



General Gnzindn Blanco to the Marquis of Salisbury. 

Paris, August 5, 1885. 

My Lord: 

I have had the honor to receive your Lordship's favour of 
the 27th July respecting the negotiations of a Treaty of Friend- 
ship between the two countries, with a modified draft. 

In the first place, your Lordship informs me that the Gov- 
ernment of Her Majesty cannot accede to my wish that the 
word "unconditionally" should be expunged from the most- 
favored-nation clauses, since even though without it they would 
have the same sense as with it, it appears from the same cor- 
respondence that the Government of Venezuela considers that 
by omitting this expression it could refuse to Great Britain 
concessions which it might make to another Power in return 
for an equivalent which Great Britain should refuse. 

In the second place, your Lordship withdraws the arbitra- 
tion clause applicable to all disputes arising between the two 
parties which had been settled with the previous Administra- 
tion, and restricts it to those originated by the Treaty alone, 
on the score of want of precedents, and the possibility that 
questions might be presented involving the title of the British 
Crown to territory and other sovereign rights, which the Gov- 
ernment could bind itself by anticipation to refer to arbitra- 
tion. 

With respect to the word "unconditionally," my instructions 
direct me not to admit it on account of the impossibility in 
w^hich it would place Venezuela, of granting particular advan- 
tages to other States in exchange for others which it should re- 
ceive from them, whether they were neighboring States or not. 

With respect to arbitration, it appears to me that the new 



131 



Cabinet could not by itself alone repeal the Article to which 
its predecessor had given formal assent, and thereby placed it 
beyond its competence, and still less so, after your Lordship's 
declaration in the House of Lords, that the engagements of 
the previous Government would be respected. I should be 
pained to think that this declaration did not include Venezuela. 

I think that boundary questions are of the number of those 
which it is most expedient to submit to the award of an im- 
partial third party. As is shown in practice, other nations 
are also of this opinion ; and that the same view is also shared 
by Great Britain, I think may be inferred from her action 
during 1829 and during 1872, in agreeing to submit two con- 
troversies respecting territory to the decision of the King of 
Holland and of the Emperor of Germany respectively. In 
the last case, it proposed the arbitration no less than six times 
to the United States, as they allege, and it was only the 
seventh time that they accepted this means of deciding whether 
or not the line should pass by the Haro Canal. It appears 
from the correspondence of the Venezuelan Plenipotentiary, 
Senor Fortique, that the same proposal was made to him 
orally for the termination of the dispute respecting Guiana. 

In fine, arbitration, in addition to having been employed on 
various occasions by Great Britain, has been so favourably 
entertained in her Parliament and by her statesmen, and in 
the public opinion of the United Kingdom, that its general 
adoption could not fail to merit applause. Moreover, I pro- 
ceeded in this matter conformably with the Constitution of 
Venezuela, which requires the Executive to stipulate for arbi- 
tration in comprehensive terms, and without any restriction. 

I renew, &c., 

Guzman Blanco. 

The Marquis of Salisbury to General Guzman Blanco. 

Foreign Office, October 3, 1885. 

M. le Mijiistrc : 

Her Majest} 's Government have had under their considera- 
tion the observations which you did me the honour to make 



132 



to me in your note of the 5th August respecting the proposed 
Treaty between Venezuela and Great Britain. They regret 
that your instructions do not permit you to agree to the article 
granting to this country most favoured nation treatment in 
Venezuela in exchange for the same treatment already con- 
ceded to the latter by Her Majesty's Government, or to the 
limited form of Arbitration Article. Under these circum- 
stances, I would ask you, M. le Ministre, to be so good as to 
refer the points on which differences have arisen to the Gov- 
ernment of the Republic, as Her Majesty's Government can- 
not but hope that a perusal of the correspondence which I 
have had the honour to exchange with you on this subject 
will convince them of the justice and reasonableness of the 
opinions held by Her Majesty's Government, and thus lead 
to a modification of your instructions in a sense that will per- 
mit of the conclusion of a Treaty containing the stipulations 
which Her Majesty's Government desire, and which are 
those now usually adopted. 

I have, etc., 

Salisbury. 



General Guzindn Blanco to the Margins of Salisbury .— ( Received 

October 20.) 

Zurich, October 12, 1885. 

My Lord: 

I have had the honour to receive Your Excellency's note of 
the 3rd instant, asking me to submit to my Government 
the points of disagreement in the negotiations for a Treaty, in 
the hope that that Government might modify my instructions 
in such a sense as would permit me to agree to the most 
favoured nation Article and to the limited Arbitration Article^ 
as desired by the Government of Her Britannic Majesty. 

As it is now more than a month since I submitted to the 
decision of my Government all that Your Excellency says in 
regard to the Treaty we are discussing, I expect every 
moment a clear and decisive answer, which will be my defini- 
tive instructions. 



133 



As soon as I receive these instructions, I shall write a note 
to your Excellency in the sense they indicate. 

I have, &c., 

Guzman Blanco. 



'General Guzman Blanco to Lord Salisbury. 

Legation of Venezuela, in London. 

Paris, December 17, 1885. 

My Lord: 

As I had the honor of making known to Your Excellency, 
I submitted to the Government of the Republic a copy of the 
correspondence I have carried on with your Department in 
respect to the negotiation of the Treaty of friendship, com- 
merce^ and navigation between the two countries as the fittest 
means of solving the pending difficulties. 

I have just received the answer of the Minister for Foreign 
Affairs. By it the President of the Republic has been pleased 
to confirm the original instructions acted upon by me, and has 
moreover fully approved the communications I have addressed 
to Your Excellency. 

Under these circumstances, I cannot but insist upon the 
most-favored-nation clause, with the condition that, in order to 
•enjoy the privileges granted to a third Power, the same com- 
pensation in exchange for which they were given is to be made. 

In regard to the arbitration clause as applicable to every 
■difference^ I once more invoke the arguments before alleged, 
and which enforce the conviction that it is a right acquired by 
Venezuela, since it having been preferred on her part and 
agreed upon on the part of Her Britannic Majesty, their mu- 
tual consent has orignated an obligation, from which it is not 
lawful for either of the contracting parties to withdraw by its 
single will. I beg to make use of your own words in a speech 
■delivered at Brighton on the 15th of October before a numer- 
ous audience, that is, before the tribunal of public opinion. 

"After the fashion of some preachers, as his charges are 
somewhat numerous^ I will venture to divide them into two 



134 



heads, and the first head is, those that are not true. The sec- 
ond head of those charges is, those that are founded on the 
monstrous assumption that it is our duty to break the promises 
of our predecessor as soon as we get into office 

" Now he (Mr. Chamberlain) has other charges. He says 
the financial agreement with Egypt, which we condemned as 
muddled and inadequate, has been carried out. Well, it was 
muddled and inadequate (^cheers), I expressed that opinion in 
opposition, and all that I have learnt in office has only con- 
firmed me in that view (cheers). But, unfortunately, it was 
an agreement to which England has set her hand, and Mr.- 
Chamberlain's intention, as I understand it, is that we ought 
to have torn up the agreement to which England has set her 
hand because our adversaries were in office at the time. I do- 
not like to say what name would be applied to such a pro- 
ceeding in private life. What would you think of a man who,- 
through his agent, had come to a certain agreement, and, when 
the agent went away and another agent came, said: * I have 
changed my agent, and, therefore, I shall treat the agreement 
as having never taken place ' (cheCrs). There is no term of. 
contempt and opprobrium which you would think too strong 
for such a man (hear, hear). Yet that is the standard of mor- 
ality according to which Mr. Chamberlain desires that the 
affairs of England should be conducted (hear, henry We do- 
not approve of the principles of the Egyptian loan, but we ap-^ 
prove still less of any action that is false to the pledged faith 
of England, and if Mr. Chamberlain says that at any time in 
our career in Opposition we have maintained the doctrine that 
you may disregard the pledged faith of England, because 
pledged by your opponents, I must again repeat the word, that 
is not true (hear, hear). And so in regard to their Afghan 
boundary. Mr. Chamberlain says that we did not approve of' 
the Afghan boundary when in Opposition. No, we did not 
approve of it then, and were we tied by no engagements we 
should not approve of it now. But we found certain engage- 
ments in existence, and these we loyally carried out." 



135 



"Then I see that both Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles 
Dilke talk of Zanzibar. I am tempted to believe that Lord 
Granville never informed them of what was going on in the 
Foreign Office {laughter), because the same state of the case 
exists absolutely there. While the late Government were in 
office the Emperor of Germany announced to them that he 
had taken certain territories in Africa under his protection. 
Lord Granville not only expressed no objection, but said that 
he was perfectly willing to welcome the German efforts of 
colonization, and he proposed that a joint commission should 
be appointed to determine what were the true limits of the 
Sultanate of Zanzibar. That is precisely what we have car- 
ried out, and we have done nothing else. We have carried 
out the agreement which Lord Granville made during his time. 
The German Government informed him that a certain protest 
had been made by the Sultan of Zanzibar, and it would insist 
on its being withdrawn. That announcement was received 
with no objection by Lord Granville, and accordingly, the Ger- 
man Government has insisted on that protest being withdrawn; 
but we have, in adherence to the principle that the pledges of 
one Government must be completely and loyally carried out 
by its successors, simply carried out that to which our prede- 
cessors pledged the country; and we have done absolutely 
nothing else." 

This Legation now respectfully asks only the application 
to Venezuela of those principles maintained by Your Excel- 
lency with so much dignity and nobleness. 

I renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my most dis- 
tinguished consideration. 

Guzman Blanco. 
To His Excellency the Marquis of Salisbury, etc., etc. 

Ge?t. Guzmdji Blanco to Loi^d Rosebery. 

Legation of Venezuela in London. 

London, June 19, 1886. 

My Lord : 

As my departure for Venezuela draws near, I am naturally 



desirous of seeing definitively settled the questions I have 
been negotiating with that Ministry since my arrival in Lon- 
don, about the middle of 1884. 

I refer especiall}^ to three questions : 1°. the additional tax 
of 30 per cent, on merchandise coming from the British Col- 
onies ; 2°. the frontier between the territories of the two 
Guianas, and 3°. the pecuniary reclamations. 

The first two points are resolved in the draft of the Treaty 
which has to substitute the incomplete and antiquated pact of 
1825, by which it is established that in future the merchandise 
coming from British Colonies shall pay the same duty of im- 
portation as that coming from the metropolis, and that further 
any difference between the two Contracting Parties shall be 
decided by means of the arbitration of a Power in amity with 
both nations. And the third point, which refers to the re- 
clamations, is dependent only on the assent of the Govern- 
ment of H. M. to the method of payment proposed by Vene- 
zuela, which consists in substituting the gradual amortization 
of the capital without anv interest, as it is done now, by a 
Diplomatic Debt of 3 per cent, interest and with half yearly 
amortizations. This change has been considered advanta- 
geous by the other creditors of Spanish, German and French 
nationality, and nothing is needed but acceptance of the Gov- 
ernment of H. M. for its being brought into execution. 
I renew, etc., 

Guzman Blanco. 

His Excellency Count Roseberv, Principal Secretary of State, etc., etc. 



Lord Roscbery to General Guznidn Bla?ieo. 

[Retranslated from the Spanish.] 

Memorial 305. 
Foreign Office, July 20, 1886. 

Sir : 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your notes 
of 19th and 24th last month. 

I am anxious to profit by your permanence in Europe for 



137 



the purpose of making every effort to come to an understand- 
ing with you about the questions which are matter of dis- 
pute between our respective countries, and, in conformity with 
the offer I made in my note of 23d last month, I send you 
now a memorandum of the bases according to which I should 
be disposed to enter into negotiations. 

1 feel assured you will acknowledge the spirit of reconcil- 
iation which the Government of Her Majesty exhibit in these 
proposals, and I hope you will meet thern with the sincere wish 
to settle these unpleasant questions in a manner reasonable 
and satisfactory both to England and to Venezuela. 

I have, etc., Rosebery. 

To His Excellency General Guzman Blanco, etc., etc., etc. 

Memorajidum of the Bases of Negotiation. 

[Retranslated from the Spanish.] 
I. 

BOUNDARY. 

It is proposed that the two Governments shall agree upon 
considering as territory disputed between the two countries, 
the land situated between the two boundary-lines indicated re- 
spectively in the iSth paragraph of Senor Rojas's note of Feb- 
ruary 2ist, 1881, and Lord Granville's note of September 
15th, 1 88 1, and to draw a dividing line within the limits of 
this territory, either by arbitration or by a mixed Commission, 
on the principle of equal division of said territory, and in due 
regard to natural boundaries. The Government of Her Maj- 
esty gives especial importance to the possession of the river 
Guaima by British Guiana, and wishes therefore to make the 
stipulation that the boundary line is to begin at the coast point, 
and a proper compensation to be found in any other part of 
the disputed territory for this deviation from the principle of 
equal division. In connection with the boundary, there shall 
be considered the cession of the island of Tatos to Venezuela. 

The river Orinoco shall be entirely free to commerce navi- 
gation . 



138 



II. 

TREATY OF COMMERCE. 

In the case of a satisfactory arrangement of the other pend- 
ing questions, the Government of Her Majesty will be disposed 
to accept the clause of the " most-favored-nation " proposed 
by Venezuela, instead of the absolute clause, which until to- 
day this Government had insisted upon. 

It will likewise be convenient to add in the Treaty the clause 
*' by arbitration " proposed by Venezuela, limited to those dif- 
ferences that may arise after the Treaty is signed with exclu- 
sion of the questions of the boundary and the island of Patos, 
which the Government of Her Majesty is ready to consider 
separately in the manner before indicated. 

The differential duties for the island of the Antilles shall 
cease as soon as the preliminary agreement between the two 
Governments has been signed. 

The question of claims of indemnification for the imposition 
of these duties against the existing Treaty shall be submitted 
to an arbitration. 

The Government of Her Majest}^, with the assent of the 
British claimants, will agree to settle the reclamations of 
1865 in a manner similar to the contents of the second article 
of the Agreement between France and Venezuela, signed the 
26th November, 1885. Other pecuniary reclamation of Brit- 
ish subjects against Venezuela shall be submitted to a Mixed 
Commission, or to an arbitration, unless they are disposed of 
otherwise. 



London, 29th July, 1886. 

Sir : 

I have had the honor to receive the communication of the 
Ministry, dated 19th last month and the memorandum there- 
with dated the 20th, containing the bases for an arrangement 
of the questions pending between our respective countries. 

There are three of them, and the British Government has 



139 



connected them and requested their simultaneous and amicable- 
solution. 

In regard to the boundary, the Constitution of the Republic 
declares that the limits of the latter are the same as were those 
of the Captaincy -General of Venezuela in 1810, and in another 
of its articles it prohibits any alienation of territory. Both pro- 
visions combined render it impossible for the Government to 
enter into any agreement in the matter of limits, in the per- 
suasion that the Captaincy- General^ of which the Republic is 
the rightful successor, had in 181 3 the Essequibo as frontier. 
There remains, for this reason, no other solution but arbitration, 
by which it shall be decided that the possession belongs to 
whichever has the better right. The exclusion, therefore, from 
arbitration of a question, in which it is most convenient and ab- 
solutely necessary for Venezuela, removes us farther from the 
hope of coming soon to an end. It must further be added,, 
that the restriction of arbitration is by itself an obstacle to the 
signature of the Treaty of commerce, as there is in the same 
Constitution another article which imposes upon the Govern- 
ment the necessity of inserting the clause of arbitration in ab- 
solute terms. 

Arbitration in this extension has been agreed upon between 
Venezuela and other nations: Italy, Spain, Belgium, Colom- 
bia, etc. 

For the arrangement of the dispute in regard to differential 
duties, it will be sufficient to add to the Treaty a stipulation 
which puts the colonies on the same level with the metropohs,. 
as has been proposed by Venezuela; and as the latter has de- 
creed this tax in virtue of her sovereignty and without break- 
ing any international obligation, as has been proved, she cannot 
submit to the decision of an arbiter the point whether she is 
responsible for the execution of the law. 

The acceptance of the clause of the most favored nation in 
the terms requested by Venezuela would be completely satis- 
factory if it were not dependent on her consenting to the prop- 
ositions referring to the other questions. 

The Treaty of 1825, and of 1834, which was left deficient in> 



140 



^order to be completed by a new negotiation that was to take 
place without delay, as it is stated in the 14th article, cannot be 
considered binding sixty-one years after its having been signed, 
so much the less as the Republic during more than four de- 
cades has been making efforts to fix the time of its dura- 
tion, which undoubtedly was one of the principal articles 
omitted. 

The arrangement as to the manner of paying the reclama- 
tions cannot be submitted to the assent of the private creditors, 
because their claims were converted by the conventions of 
1865 and 1868 into a Diplomatic Debt of the Government of 
Venezuela to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty. 

In the annexed memorandum I have explained more exten- 
sively the state of things. 

It remains only to express my sorrow to see that the well 
meant, sincere, and amicable efforts of two years have not 
produced the result which was to be expected, and that I shall 
return to my country with the dissatisfaction of leaving the 
• question pending, such as it was before my arrival, or rather 
worse, for it will be impossible to continue the threefold nego- 
tiation which is now suspended, until the person who may 
come to substitute me has studied sufficiently the voluminous 
and difficult dispatches in which it is contained, and acquired 
the various and profound knowledge which is connected with 
these questions. I remain, &c. 

Guzman Blanco. 

To His Excellency the Principal Secretary of Her British Majesty in the Depart- 
ment of Foreign Affairs, etc., etc., etc. 



Memorandum. 

The Government of Her British Majesty made in 1883, 
through the British Legation at Caracas, to Venezuela the pro- 
posal of a simultaneous and amicable arrangement of the three 
following questions, viz.: Limits, Differential Duties or Treaty 
of Commerce, and Pecuniary Reclamations. The idea was 
gladly accepted, and the President of the Republic sent Gen- 
eral Guzman Blanco to London, with the sincere intention to 



141 



bring the negotiation to an end. The Envoy arrived in this 
country in July, 1884. He at once began to take the steps 
conducent to the object, and about the middle of 1885 the pro- 
ceedings were so far advanced that there remained only pend- 
ing the discussion about the clause of the most favoured nation 
and about the manner of paving the claims. The acceptance 
of Arbitration had opened the way to the solution of the 
boundary question; the conclusion of a new Treaty of Com- 
merce was to remove the difficulties arising from the antiqua- 
ted pact of 1825, and the British Colonies were sure to ob- 
tain the same treatment as the metropolis; and by the admis- 
sion of the notes of the Diplomatic Debt the general fulfillment 
of a law of Venezuela was to be achieved, advantageous both 
to debtor and creditors. In this state of things a political- 
change took place, and the successor of Lord Granville with- 
drew the article on general arbitration, although it had been 
agreed upon by both parties. It was in vain that the Vene- 
zuelan Legation insisted upon the compliance with the word.^ 
given by the anterior administration, notwithstanding the chief 
of the new Ministry had proclaimed the necessity of redeeming 
the promises of the Government, even if they were made by 
their predecessors; and thus the Republic did not obtain^ 
what was conceded to Russia. 

Meanwhile some grave events had taken place in the Repub- 
lic, where two vessels under British flag, one with an English 
crew and officers, as has been proved before one of the courts- 
of this city and comm.ented upon by the daily papers, had 
landed a revolutionary invasion, proceeding from London and' 
Port-of-Spain. These circumstances were little favourable 
to the continuance of that friendly intercourse. The Lega- 
tion took up its work again when the danger had been removed,., 
not by any repressive measure of Her British Majesty's func- 
tionaries, but by the bravery and loss of life of Venezuelan 
citizens. Nor was the Legation checked by the consummation 
of other doleful acts executed by order of the Governor of the 
British Colony of Demerara, which had produced an extra- 
ordinary excitement in the Republic, the territory of whicb> 



142 



had been invaded by official commissions, directed to pene- 
trate into various places, to put up public notices and other 
signs of authorit}^, and even to seize a police officer and to 
conduct him off for the purpose of submitting him to trial. 
The ^rlinister has referred to these occurrences in a special 
note bearing the number 350. 

His last note requesting the arrangements of the three pend- 
ing points, in hope of which he has delayed his return to 
Caracas, although since the 27th of April he is the President- 
elect of the Republic, is answered now in such a manner, 
that the possibility of an understanding between the two par- 
ties appears to be farther off than before . 

In fact the pretension is brought forward that the boundary 
lines indicated in Seiior Rojas's note of February 21, 1881, 
and in Lord Granville's note of September 15th, 1881, being 
taken as the extremes, the territory situated between these 
lines should be considered as under dispute, and a new boun- 
dary line be drawn within said limits, either by arbitration or 
by a mixed commission, on the principle of equal division of 
said territory and in due regard to natural limits. However, 
as Great Britain attaches much importance to the possession of 
the mouth of the Guaima, it is desired that the line, on the 
shore-end, shall begin at the west of that point, a compensa- 
tion for such divergence from the principle of equal division 
having to be found within the same territory. It is promised 
to connect the cession of the island of Patos with the boundary 
question, and finally the request is made that the Orinoco 
shall be entirely free to commerce and navigation. 

The acceptance of these propositions made by Lord Rose- 
bery would decide, once forever, and in a manner unfavour- 
able to Venezuela, the question of the right of dominion, 
always maintained by the Republic, as far as the Essequibo. 
If Venezuela could do as much, there would be no need of a 
Mixed Commission, nor of an Arbitration for the purpose 
of dividing equally the portion of the territory which it is en- 
deavored to declare as being in dispute. Venezuela has 
repeatedly held forth to Great Britain her inability to alien- 



143 



ate any part whatever of the territory of the Republic, such 
a thing being explicitly prohibited by the Constitution; so that 
there remains but arbitration for bringing the dispute about 
the boundary to an end. 

It is pertinent to observe that the Republic since 1841 
has been urging the Cabinet of Her Britanic Majesty to 
come to an arrangement in the controversy of limits, and that 
Lord Aberdeen in 1844, at the time Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs, proposed a Hne which, after having been modified, is as 
follows: " Beginning on the coast at the mouth of the river 
Moroco, it runs straight to the point where the river Barima 
joins the Guaima; from there up the Barima as far as the 
Aunama, which it follows upwards to the place where this 
creek reaches its shortest distance from the Acarabisi; then it 
descends the said Acarabisi as far as its confluence with the 
Cuyuni, following afterwards the last river up-stream until it 
reaches the high lands in the immediate neighborhood of 
Mount Roraima, which divides the waters flowing to the 
Essequibo from those running into the Rio Branco." 

This proposition was not accepted, not only on account of 
its being in discrepancy with the rights of Venezuela, but also 
as it appears to make a cession to Venezuela of what she 
claims as her own, and besides under the onerous condition, 
restrictive of her right of property, of never alienating to any 
foreign Power, any part whatever of the ceded territory. It 
was further requested that the Indian tribes Hving there at the 
time should be protected against all oppression and ill treat- 
ment. The death of the Venezuelan diplomatic Agent inter- 
rupted then the course of negotiations, which was urgently 
taken up again in 1876 in two separate notes, with the inclu- 
sion of the question of the island Patos. The i6th February, 
1877, Lord Derby acknowledged the receipt of both these 
communications, and supposing that the Minister, Seiior Rojas, 
would bring instructions in regard to the contents of these 
notes, limited himself to say that his Government would always 
be much pleased to receive, and to consider with due atten- 
tion, whatever communications the Government of Venezuela 



144 



should think proper to send through Senor Rojas, or the 
Minister Resident of Her British Majesty at Caracas. 

The said Agent, Seiior Rojas, took several steps in the 
matter and presented, the 21st February, 1881, on his own 
account, propositions of agreement, which were rejected by 
Lord Granville the 19th September of the same year, and 
substituted by the following one: "The starting point shall 
be fixed in^a place on the seacoast distant 29 miles due East 
from the right bank of the river Barima and from there the 
line shall run towards the South, passing over the mountain 
or hill called Tarikita on the original map of Schomburgk 
situated in 8° Lat. North; thence to the west on the same 
parallel of latitude, till it intersects the boundary line proposed 
by Schomburgk, and laid down on the said map; farther on, it 
shall follow the course of the Acarabisi to its confluence with 
the Cuyuni, and then the left bank of the river Cuyuni up to 
its head waters, whence it shall turn to the South East, meet- 
ing the line proposed by Schomburgk to the Essequibo and 
Corantenyy 

Lord Granville said of this boundary line, in the memoran- 
dum in which he proposed it, that it satisfied the reasonable 
pretensions and exigencies of Venezuela, and prevented all 
occasions of further disputes; that such a line left to the Re- 
public what might be called the Dardanelles of the Orinoco, 
the complete dominion of its mouth, and nearly one-half of the 
disputed territory, whilst it insured to British Guiana a natural 
frontier well defined in almost its whole length, with the ex- 
ception only of the first fifty miles from the sea into the 
interior, where it would be necessary to trace an arbitrary 
line, in order to give Venezuela the undisturbed possession of 
the mouths of the Orinoco. He further added that this line 
did not deprive the Republic of any territory actually peopled 
and occupied by Venezuela, and finally that it would be under- 
stood by the Indians and other inhabitants, as it ran on the 
banks of the Cuyuni from its origin down to its confluence 
with the Acarabisi, and along the latter up to its head waters 
and thence over the mountains, which in a northern direction 
extend towards the sea. 



145 



It appears from these statements that in the course of time 
the propositions of the Government of Her British Majesty 
have become more and more unfavorable. In the two initial 
cases it was intended to leave to Venezuela the free possession 
of the mouths of the Orinoco, it being recognized that this 
was a reasonable pretension and exigency; whilst in the third 
proposition endeavours are made to limit her right in this re- 
spect by the demand of full liberty to navigate the great river 
for commercial purposes. On the other hand, it is evident that 
the line proposed merely favours the interests of British Guiana, 
sets aside not only the question of right, but also the interests 
of Venezuela. 

Considering now that the Orinoco in its whole extension 
runs through Venezuelan territory, it has evidently the char- 
acter of an inland river, subjected to exclusive dominion; Ven- 
ezuela has therefore the right to regulate, and has always 
.regulated its navigation and commerce in accordance with 
whatever she has believed convenient to her interest. She 
has constantly maintained the same principles invoked by 
Great Britain in the memorable discussion with the United 
States of America in regard to the navigation of the St. Law- 
rence River, by which the -great lakes of that Republic dis- 
charge their waters into the ocean. The Legislation of Ven- 
ezuela has hitherto opened the use of the national rivers to a 
foreign flag only in some special cases for a limited time, and 
on the condition of reciprocal concessions. 

To conclude, Venezuela revindicates to-day, as she has done 
formerly and in particular in the Presidential Message of 1877, 
her rights on the territory as far as the Federal Constitution 
prohibits absolutely the alienation of any territor}^ of Ven- 
ezuela. Her Government cannot accept any transaction, what- 
ever it may be, nor is there to be found any other way of re- 
moving the difficulty, except by appealing to an arbitration. 

With reference to the island of Patos, it has been proved 
that on account of its being nearer to the coast of the Re- 
public than to that of England, as well as for other reasons, 
it must belong to Venezuela, and not to Great Britain. Its in- 



146 



elusion under the jurisdiction of the Ayuntamiento of Trinidad 
by the Spanish Governor, which has been alleged in contra, 
has not been confirmed, as it was indispensable for the validity 
of the plea by the Royal Court of Spain. 

The Government of Her Majesty offers to accept "the 
clause of the most-favoured-nation" in the terms proposed by 
Venezuela, but only under the condition that the other ques- 
tions be arranged in a satisfactory manner; however, it is ap- 
parent, and will always be so, that the difference between the 
two parties is growing wider every day. 

It is also offered to add in the Treaty of commerce the 
clause referring to the arbitration proposed by Venezuela, pro- 
vided it be limited to the differences that may arise after the 
date at which the Treaty be signed, and with the exclusion of 
the question of the boundary as well as that of the island of 
Patos, to which is to be applied the special method pointed 
out btfore. But the boundary question is precisely the most 
important which ought to be submitted to an arbitration, as it 
is at the same time the most adequate for such a proceeding; 
just as Great Britain has done in several cases'of the same na- 
ture with the United States of America and quite lately in 
that of the " Haro Channel," which was referred to the arbit- 
rament of the Emperor of Germany, and decided by him; 
and it is a notable circumstance that the Government of Her 
Majesty has appealed as often as six times to this manner of 
adjusting the dispute. 

It must likewise be considered that the Article 109 of the 
Constitution of Venezuela orders the Executive Power to 
insert into the Treaties the cause of arbitration for whatever 
differences may arise between the two contracting parties, 
without admitting of exceptions of any kind. It appears 
herefrom that the President can neither accept, nor Congress 
approve, a Treaty which does not contain such a stipulation, 
or includes it with certain restrictions. 

In regard to the differential duties, it is pointed out that they 
shall cease as soon as the preliminary agreement between the 
two Governments be signed. The Minister of Venezuela has 



147 



stated from the beginning, and constantly, that he is disposed 
to put the English Colonies on the same level with the metrop- 
olis, by means of the addition, in the new Treaty, of an article 
which expresses it explicitly. 

The novelty is now introduced of proposing an arbitration 
to decide the question of claims for indemnification, on account 
of the imposition of these duties against the existent Treaty. 

The Government of Venezuela kept up a correspondence 
with the British Legation at Caracas, from 1882 to 1883, 
order to explain and to justify the legitimate right of the 
Legislature to establish the additional tax of 30 per cent, on 
all merchandise coming from the English Colonies in the An- 
tilles. The attention of the British Government is called to 
the discussion, so much the more so as the last note of the 
Minister of Foreign Affairs of February 7th, 1883, has not 
been refuted hitherto, and it was the next step of the Govern- 
ment of Her Majesty to combine this question with those of 
the boundary and pecuniary reclamations, and to demand their 
simultaneous and amicable arrangement. 

It will be serving the purpose to recollect the substance of 
the controversy. A law of Venezuela, of 1881, imposed an 
additional duty of 30X on all merchandise coming from the 
Colonies. Lord Granville was of the opinion that in regard 
to Great Britain, this was a breach of the Treaty concluded 
in 1825 with Colombia, and renewed in 1834 ^^^h Venezuela. 
He maintained that by the fourth article of this Treaty, it was 
prohibited to impose on the importation into the ports of Vene- 
zuela, of articles being the growth, produce or manufacture 
of the dominions of Her British Majesty, other or higher duties 
than those which are or may hereafter be payable on similar 
articles, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of any 
other foreign country. It was argued that in consequence of 
the new law, merchandise imported directly from the British 
Colonies in the Antilles, shall have to pay higher duties than 
similar articles coming from other countries, and that in the case 
of such merchandise being the growth, produce or manufacture 
of the dominions of Her British Majesty, the application of the 



148 



law was incompatible with the stipulations of said Treaty. It is 
apparent herefroTi, first of all, that there is no motive for com- 
plaint if the taxed merchandise be of foreign origin, though it 
may come from the Colonies; and further that there would be 
no breach of treaty if the tax were not limited to the British 
Colonies, but applicable to all, without distinction of nationalit}-, 
inclusive even of Venezuelan merchandise. Moreover, the 
stipulations referred to would not have been trespassed, if 
the territory of the English Metropolis had been included in 
the duty, provided all the other Powers were to be included 
too. It has also been proved that, by the third article, recip- 
rocal liberty of commerce was established between Colombia 
and the territories of H. B. Majesty in Europe, so that the 
text excludes the Colonies, which might have been, but were 
not mentioned in it. The difference has been insisted upon, 
which always has been made between the metropolis and 
the Colonies, the latter holding a situation less favourable 
than that of the former; and it has been observed that in the 
political language of Great Britain the words "Colony" and 
" Dominion do not signify one and the same thing. It has 
also been shown that in the article 3d mentioned before, H. 
B. Majesty allows the Colombians the same liberty of com- 
merce and navigation which is stipulated for the dominions of 
H. Majesty outside of Europe, in the same extension in which 
it is allowed to any other nation; and herefrom it follows that 
an inequality was established between the commerce with the 
metropolis and the commerce with the Colonies. Finally the 
significative fact was called to mind that when in 1825 the 
Treaty between Colombia and Great Britain w^as concluded, 
there existed in that Republic differential duties for the Colo- 
nies, which continued after the ratification of the Treaty, with- 
out the cabinet of London thinking it worth the while to make 
any observation about it, which proves that this point was then 
understood in the same manner as now maintained by Vene- 
zuela. 

The President of the Republic, with a spirit of reconcilia- 
tion, issued the 22d January, 1883, a Decree, that the tax was 



149 



not levied on all those productions and manufactured articles 
which, having been embarked in Europe or the United States 
of America with destination to the ports of Venezuela, in 
accordance with the formalities prescribed in the Law about 
the transaction of business in the Custom- Houses, should 
arrive by transit in the Colonies, in order to be transhipped 
there, or to be deposited until being taken to the ports of Ven- 
ezuela in other vessels. 

This modification has attenuated the effects of the measure 
to the benefit of the Colonies. 

The Government of the Republic has been not less dis- 
posed to add in the Treaty of Commerce an article for the 
purpose of exempting from differential duties all the importa- 
tions from the British Colonies, as far as they are not pro- 
hibited in Venezuela. 

It is a matter of urgency that the Treaty of 1825-1834 
should expire; because, besides its being antiquated, as it was 
called by Lord Granville, it is impossib.e that stipulations in 
regard to navigation and commerce should have a character 
of perpetuity; they cannot remain stationary, but needs must 
follow the current of human events. The contracting parties 
themselves declared that the Treaty was incomplete, and they 
intended carrying on the negotiations without the shortest 
delay, in order to add the omitted articles, one of which bein^^ 
evidently the fixation of the time the Treaty was to be valid. 
This has not yet been done, although since then sixty-one 
vears have passed and Venezuela has urgently requested it 
long ago; whilst it was conceded to New Granada, like her- 
self an heir to the Treaties of Colombia, already in 1866. 

It is satisfactory that the Government of Her Majesty with 
respect to the claims recognized in 1865, has resolved to agree 
upon an arrangement similar to the contents of the 2d Article 
of the convention made between Venezuela and France, the 
26th November, 1885. 

But it does not appear advisable to make it dependent on 
the assent of the private creditors; because these claims are 
not any longer a private affair, since they have been converted ' 



150 



into international arrangements. The parties interested have 
had time to express their opinion about the proposed change 
and there is no doubt that it is as favourable as were the opin- 
ions of the German, Spanish and French claimants. There 
can indeed be no vacillation whatever; on one side, a slow 
amortization, by small sums, of the capital of a debt without 
any interest, and not simultaneously for all the creditors, but 
successively for the two classes in which they are divided; — 
on the other, full payment of the whole amount in notes bringing 
interest, and therefore salable in the money market. 

In the case of there existing- any other pending reclamations 
of subjects of Her Majesty against Venezuela, the Govern- 
ment will not deny their being submitted to the decision of a 
Mixed Commission, in the same manner as has been done with 
some French claims in the recent agreement made in Paris, 
but, of course, under the conditions specified in its Fifth 
Article. 



United States of Venezuela. 

Legation in London. 
London, July 28, 1886. 

My Lord: 

It is some time since the Government of the United States 
of Venezuela communicated to me the order to enforce before 
the Cabinet of H. B. Majesty the reclamations made first at 
Caracas, against the repeated acts of violence committed by 
English authorities ;in the territory of Venezuela. I have 
waited till now that the Cabinet of the Queen, taking in con- 
sideration the just complaints of the Republic, would, after the 
necessary information, dictate the measures of satisfaction 
which these offences demand. But as this has not been the 
case, I proceed to expose the reasons of the urging requests of 
the Executive Power. 

I must begin by saying that the facts committed in detri- 
ment of Venezuela are impossible to be justified, and as they 
go out from agents of a great and powerful nation, with which 



151 



the Republic has lived in long and cordial amity, it is very nat 
ural that they have excited considerable public opinion and 
roused feelings which had been silent since 1841. 

If Your Excellency be pleased to order that the respective 
documents be brought to view, it will be found that Engineer 
Schomburgk, in charge of a scientific commission in Guiana, 
traveling at that time over the country, erected arbitrarily in 
Barima and other parts, posts as signs of the British domin- 
ions in those places, as if one of the parties in an international 
dispute, could resolve j)er se and de facto, without any contra- 
dictory discussion, a controversy with the other having the 
same attributes, viz., sovereignty and independence. How- 
ever, this arbitrariness was not approved; on the contrary, 
the Government of Her British Majesty, listening to the 
voice of reason, gave, in honor to themselves, the necessary 
explanations, and moreover ordered the posts and emblems to 
be removed. 

The President of Venezuela wishing to prevent in the fu- 
ture the repetition of such grave events, and to shut up for 
ever the fountain of differences and difficulties, set to work at 
once with the greatest interest for the arrangement of the 
question of the frontiers between the two countries. The ne- 
gotiations were opened at first by the Minister Plenipoten- 
tiary, Dr. Alejo Fortique, but no result was arrived at, on 
account of his untimely death in 1844. From that time till to- 
day, some steps have been taken in order to bring the matter 
to an end, and Venezuela has seen with sorrow that lately a 
proposition has been made by Great Britain, which is less fa- 
vorable than the one presented spontaneously by Lord Aber- 
deen to Dr. Fortique, without there being known anything in 
regard to the cause of such difference. The Republic, for her 
part, considering the mutual advantages of arbitration, adopted 
by Her Majesty in similar cases, and besides prompted by con- 
stitutional precepts, has appealed more than once to a proce- 
dure recommended by the Chambers, the statesmen, and the 
public opinion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
Ireland, as well as by the whole civilized world. 



152 



Mr. Belford Hinton Wilson, Charge d'Affaires of Great 
Britain in Venezuela, referring to the rumor which had spread 
in 1850, that England intended claiming Venezuelan Guiana, 
took great interest to contradict it, and declared in an official 
note of the iith November, that not only was it absolutely 
and completely groundless, but that precisely the contrary was 
true. In addition to which he expressed himself in the follow- 
ing terms : 

"The Venezuelan Government, in justice to Great Britain, 
cannot mistrust for a moment the sincerity of the formal decla- 
ration which is now made in the name and by the express 
order of Her Majesty's Government, that Great Britain has no 
intention to occupy, or encroach upon, the territory in dispute; 
therefore, the Venezuelan Government, in an equal spirit of 
good faith and friendship, cannot refuse to make a similar dec- 
laration to Her Majesty's Government, namely, that Vene- 
zuela herself has no intention to occupy or encroach upon the 
territory in dispute." 

Further on says Mr. Wilson in the same note: 
"Her Majesty's Government, as above stated, will not order 
or sanction such occupations or encroachmentson the pa: t of the 
British authorities; and if at any time there should be any 
error about their determination in this respect, the undersigned 
is persuaded that they would willingly renew their orders on 
the subject; he is then satisfied that, in accordance with the 
friendly suggestions of Her Majesty's Government, the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela will not hesitate to send to the Vene- 
zuelan authorities positive orders to refrain from taking meas- 
ures which the British authorities may justly consider as ag- 
gressions. 

The Government of the Republic complied with his desire^ 
and disclaimed intention to occupy or usurp any part whatever 
of the territor}', the dominion of which was a matter of dispute, 
adding that it would not be seen with indifference, if Great 
Britain should proceed otherwise . According to this promise, 
the authorities of Guiana were instructed to abstain from any 



153 



steps which might infringe the engagement contracted by the 
Government and possibly have lamentable consequences. 

This agreement has been in force till now without any alter- 
ation; no term was fixed for it, nor have any of the two parties 
since then made to the other the least communication con- 
cerning the matter. 

If such an agreement has any signification whatever, it is 
clear that neither Great Britain nor V^enezuela were allowed 
to occupy the disputed places, the specification of which ought 
to have been an integrant part of the agreement; but this was 
not done. However, the rational meaning of the latter is in 
its bearing upon the maintenance of the statu quo. In this 
sense it has been understood by the Republic, and therefore 
the British were left provisionally on the territory claimed by 
Venezuela as far as the Essequibo, of which they had de facto- 
taken possession. 

Great Britain, on the contrary, has been advancing in its oc- 
cupation of the territory, and this conduct, as Vy'eil as the recent 
actions of its authorities, prove that the spontaneous declaration 
mentioned before had passed recollection. 

At the time the question of the frontier between Venezuelan 
and British Guiana was ventilated. Lord Aberdeen, then First 
Secretary of State of H. B. M. in the Department of Foreign 
Affairs, spontaneously proposed in reply to the claim made 
by the Plenipotentiary, Dr. Fortique, in regard to the Esse- 
quibo line, that the frontier should begin on the coast at the 
mouth of the river Moroco and follow the latter up-stream,, 
"etc. It follows herefrom that the British pretensions, at the 
utmost, could not go farther, for it would be an absurdity as 
inadmissible as discreditable for the illustrious members of the 
Government at That time, to suppose that the Cabinet of H. 
M. did not know then that the boundar}^ line should go as far 
as the Orinoco. 

Venezuela, however, did not accept the proposition. But 
now, forty years after these events, and notwithstanding that 
England to-day cannot have any more right than its predecessor 
Holland had in 1814, when the cession of part of Dutch Guiana 



154 



took place, it is pretended that Great Britain is entitled to ex- 
ercise jurisdiction as far as the right bank of the river 
Amacuro. 

But let it even be supposed for a moment, that such were 
the aspirations of Her Majesty's Government, it was certainly 
not permitted that, after the promise not to occupy, nor to 
usurp the disputed territory, officers of the British navy and civil 
authorities should commit actions like those consummated at 
the principal mouth of the Orinoco and in other places, mindless 
of the sovereignty, laws, and authorities of Venezuela. Some 
English functionaries requested in October, in 1884, the assist- 
ance of a pilot to enter the river, and as this request was de- 
nied to them on account of their not being bound for any port 
of the Republic open to foreign commerce, they continued 
quietly in their voyage, penetrated into places which always 
have belonged to Venezuela, erected posts with the notice of 
such places being under the British law, removed functionaries 
of the Republic, substituting them by others of their own se- 
lection, intended enlisting the services of Venezuelan officers, 
and promised to return wdth larger forces to make effective 
their orders. They returned, indeed, and continued in their 
proceedings, without taking any notice whatever of the pro- 
tests of the Venezuelan authorities. Not satisfied herewith, 
they arrested an officer of the Republic, under the pretext that 
he was guilty of misdemeanor for having ill-treattd a Portu- 
guese subject; and being brought before a tribunal at Deme- 
rara, he was sentenced to punishment, which has been exe- 
cuted. This man is named Roberto Wel:s, held the place of. 
Comrnissioner of Amacuro, and was captured by trickery. 

These facts need no other proof but the following: The 
Government of the Republic appointed General Federico Puga 
to make an inquiry into what had happened. He visited the 
places where the events had occurred, and having met at Mo- 
raj nana Mr. Michael Mc Turk, he askeJ him tirst verbally, 
and then by writing, about the affair. This person, who gives 
himself the title of "Acting Special Commissioner and Super- 
intendent of the Crown Lands and Forests in the District of 



155 



the River Pomeron," answered the 4th April in the follow- 
ing terms: 

MoRAjuANA River, British Guiana. 

April 4, 1885. 

I have been on Rivers Amacuro, Barima, Morajuana, and 
Waini and have placed notices in English at the principal 
points on said rivers. I regret not to have a copy of those 
notices to send to you; but, as they were removed by the em- 
ployees of the Manoa Company, you may probably be able to 
get one from them. The notices were posted once only by 
order of His Excellency the Governor of British Guiana. 

The name of the steamer in which I came was the "Lady 
Longden, " Captain Paisley. I have been several times on 
the aforesaid rivers after having posted the notices, but in the 
discharge of my functions of Magistrate in charge of the dis- 
trict of which they form a part. 

Roberto Wells was sentenced by the Supreme Criminal 
Court of the Judelie sessions, Essequibo river, on the 20th of 
February last, for an assault committed (I believe in October 
last) upon the person of a Portuguese subject at River Mora- 
juana. I never heard that he was a Police official for the 
Government of Venezuela, but I did hear that he was an em- 
ployee for the Manoa Company, as I was told by Wells 
himself. 

I did not require a pilot for the Amacuro, neither did I ask 
for the services of one for the Orinoco. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Michael McTurk. 

Special Magistrate pro tern, and Superintendent of the Crown Lands and 
Forests in the District of the River Pomaron. 
Senor F. Puga, Commissioner for the National Government of Venezuela. 

Here it is manifestly recognized, ist, that Mr. McTurk 
visited the rivers Amacuro, Barima, Morajuana, and Waini, 
and that he put up Enghsh notifications in the principal places; 
2d, that he did so by order of His Excellency the Governor 
of British Guiana; 3d, that he went [in the steamship "Lady 



156 



Longden ", Captain Paisley; 4th, that he has visited repeat- 
edly those rivers, after having put up the notifications; 
although he adds, that he did so in virtue of his office as Act- 
ing Commissioner of the District to which they belong; 5th,. 
that Roberto Wells was sentenced by the Supreme Criminal 
Court during the sessions at Judelie, River Essequibo, the 20th 
February last, for having made an assault, as it is reported, on 
the person of a Portuguese in the river Morajuana (in October, 
1884); and, 6th, that he did not need a pilot for the river Ama- 
curo, nor requested the services of any one ior the Orinoco. 

With respect to the last points, this statement of Mr. Mc- 
Turk is, contradicted by several witnesses; however, it shall be 
set aside for the moment, in order to expose the transcendence 
of the proceedings of the said person, in his character as a 
public British functionary. 

At first sight it is clear and evident that the most sacred 
attribution of the Republic, viz: its territory, has been violated 
by British officers by order of the Government of Guiana, and 
not accidentally, but with deliberate purpose, and in midst of 
the amity which was established by a solemn pact. 

In the second place, there has been committed an infraction 
of an agreement, conceived and proposed to V^enezuela since 
1850 by Great Britain, which was only accepted by the Re- 
public with deference to the desires of H. M., and for the 
purpose of preventing in the future, until the question of the 
frontier should be settled definitively, any difference that might 
be hurtful to the good relations between the two parties. 

The Governor of British Guiana has infringed the orders 
he m\ist have received formally, and which later on mus: 
have been repeated of not making any usurpation nor occu- 
pation: as the Government of H. M. had promised neither to 
ordain nor to sanction any such proceeding of their authori- 
ties, and declared to be ready to renew willingly their orders 
concerning this matter in the case of there occurring any mis- 
understanding in regard to this point. 

At the same time is there an infraction of the declaration 
made in the name, and by special order, of the Government 



157 



of H. M., viz., "that Great Britain had no intention to occupy 
nor to usurp the disputed territory." 

As this agreement refers to those parts of the Territory which 
are the subject of a dispute, it must likewise and with more 
reason be applicable to places of undoubted ownership, which 
have always been in the rightful possession of their owner. Such 
is precisely the case with some of those places, where English 
functionaries executed jurisdictional acts, and where never 
any other Government but that of the Republic has been 
known. The very circumstance of it having appeared con- 
venient to put up notifications and other signs of the British 
dominion proves that it was intended to speak to the eyes of 
the inhabitants, giving them to understand that some novelty 
was to be introduced. For the same purpose Mr. McTurk 
was sent to places which did not belong to the district under 
his jurisdiction. 

Although the said Mr. McTurk assures that he did not ask 
for a pilot to sail up the Orinoco, there is the statement of the 
officers of the Light-Ship, who affirm the contrary, and who 
did not comply with his request, as his voyage was not di- 
rected to any port open to foreign commerce. He however, 
did not take notice of this formality, and continued his voyage 
at the risk of coercitive measures to prevent the consumma- 
tion of an offence against the rights of Venezuela. The laws 
do not permit the entrance into the Territory but through the 
ports qualified for this respect; and even if Great Britain 
owned possessions, the access of which were only possible 
through the lands or waters of the Republic, it would be 
necessary to comply with this formality. The Orinoco is an 
inland river, which only can be entered by vessels under cer- 
tain conditions, and with the indication of those places where 
it is allowed to land or to drop anchor. 

There exists moreover a law prohibiting foreign men-of- 
war the entrance into ports not open to foreign commerce, 
unless it be for scientific purposes, and in this case only with 
the previous permission of the Executive Power. This law 
was notified in 1882, although there was no necessity for doing 



158 



so, to the foreign nations represented in Caracas, and amongst 
them to Great Britain. 

The gravity of the case increases when it is considered 
that a functionary of the Republic was arrested in its own 
territory, and without notice being taken of his authority; that 
he was called under false pretenses on board a British vessel, 
where he was told he was a prisoner; that he was taken to 
Demerara, brought to trial, and sentenced to punishment 
which was executed, for the misdemeanor of having ill-treated 
a Portugese subject. The majesty of the Nation has been 
offended by such a proceeding against the person of Mr. 
Wells, who was its commissioner. If he did anything wrong 
in exercising his commission, he only was responsible for it to 
the qualified judges of Venezuela, and by no means before 
the tribunals of a foreign country, to the laws of which he 
was not subject. It is difficult to understand, why his cause 
was not dismissed as soon as he alleged his character as a 
Venezuelan functionary, and the deed he was accused of had 
been an act of his legitimate jurisdiction within the territory 
of the Republic. In case that such jurisdiction should have 
been unduly conferred on him, the consequences were for the 
Republic, his constituent, and had not to fall back on a 
subordinate who acted on behalf of another one. And even 
if he had been a private delinquent, his actions were only 
subject to the sovereign of the territory where they had been 
committed, and not to the authorities of Demerara, who 
sentenced and punished him. 

The functionary who was on board the mentioned man-of- 
war of H. B. M. entered the mouth of the Orinoco, arrived 
at the Light-Ship and asked for a pilot to sail up the river: 
and as this request was denied by the officers of the Light- 
Ship, on account of the steamer not being bound for any port 
open to foreign commerce, he sailed on without a pilot as far 
as the "Amacuro" and next day to "Guaima" by the channel 
of "Barima," leaving at all the places touched the following 
notification : 



159 



GOVERNMENT NOTICE. 

Notice is hereby given that any persons infringing the 
right of Her Majesty, or acting in contravention of the laws 
of British Guiana, will be prosecuted according to Law. 

By Command, 

Francis Villters. 

Acting Government Secretary. 

Georgetown, Demerara, 

i6th October, 1884. 

Printed at the Royal Gazette Office. 

All this happened in October, 1884, since the i8th of the 
month. From that time onwards the Venezuelan territory 
was repeatedly invaded, and amongst other acts the following 
were committed. The authorities named by the Governor of 
the "Territory Delta" at the mouths of the Amacuro and 
Morajuana, were violently dispossessed, and to the commis- 
sioner at the former of these places, Senor Roberto Liso, the 
proposal was made to invest him with sufficient authority, pay 
him a salary and give him the necessary garrison for the 
maintenance and defence of the British jurisdiction in that 
place. 

The 22d November following, the said Mr. Mc. Turk wrote 
from the right bank of the Amacuro to Mr. Thomas A. Kelly, 
Acting President of the Manoa Company, stating that he had 
received notice that the Company was going to erect a saw- 
mill at the mouth of the Barima, and added what follows : 

I deem it my duty, as the Officer now in charge of the 
Pomeroon River Judicial District, and which District extends 
to the limits of the Colony on its Venezuelan or Western side, 
to notify you that the Barima River is in the County of Es- 
sequibo and Colony of British Guiana, and forms part of the 
Judicial District, over which I exercise jurisdiction. 

No settlement of any kind, whether for the purpose of trade 
or any other purposes, can be made within the limits of the 
Colony unless in accordance with its existing laws, and those 



160 



that may become resident therein will be required to obey 
them. 

I would draw your attention to the notices posted on the 
trees in the Amucaro, Barima and Waini Rivers, one of which 
I am told you haye. I enclose a written copy. These no- 
tices were placed where they are by order of His Excellency 
the Governor. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant, 

Michael Mc. Turk. 

Special Magistrate and Supt. Crown Lands & Forests. Essequibo 
River, and Act. for the Pomeroon River Judicial District. 

To Thomas A. Kelly, President Ma/iager of Manoa Compa)iy : 

In another communication of the same date, Mr. Mc. Turk 
writes to Mr. Kelly as follows : 

"I have the honor to inform you that you are now within 
the limits of the Colony of British Guiana and those of the 
District under my jurisdiction as one of the special magistrates 
and superintendent of Crown-Lands and Forests of this Col- 
ony, and therefore you are outside your jurisdiction as a func- 
tionary of Venezuela." .... "Whatever notification you 
should make to the inhabitants will be void, and all persons 
residing in this or any part of this colony, or visiting it. 
will have to conduct themselves in accordance to its laws. I 
must likewise call 3'our attention to the notifications put upon 
trees on the banks of this river, as also on the rivers Waini 
and Barima. These notifications were fixed where they are 
by order of the Government of British Guiana." 

The 25th October, 1884, the Acting Secretary of the 
Government of British Guiana," wrote the following letter to 
Mr. Fitzgerald: 

British Guiana, Government Secretary Office. 

Georgetown, Demerara, 25th October, 1884. 

Sir: — I am directed by H. E., the Governor of British 
Guiana, to acknowledge receipt of your three letters noted in 
the margin with reference and transmitting documents respect- 



161 



ing the Manoa Company and the concession made by the 
Venezuelan Government, and to convey to you the expression 
of H. E.'s thanks for the information and the documents sup- 
plied. 

With regard to the British Guiana boundary, I am directed 
by H. E. to intimate to you that the Colonial Government ex- 
ercise authority and jurisdiction within the limits laid down in 
the accompanying map starting from the right bank of the 
Amacuro River, and that within these limits the Colonial 
Government enforce the Law of British Guiana. 

I am further to intimate to you that any person disregard- 
ing or acting in contravention of the laws of British Guiana 
within these limits will be liable to be prosecuted according to 
the Laws of the Colony. 

The whole of the territory therefore between the Amacuro 
and Moruca Rivers is part of the Colony of British Guiana 
and the Colonial Government will maintain jurisdiction over 
this territory and prevent the rights of Her Majesty or of the 
inhabitants of the Colony of being in any way infringed. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant. 

F. Gaulis. 

Ac. Government Secretary. 
C. C. Fitzgerald, Esq., Phenix Building. i6 Court St., Brooklyn. New York, 



I have quoted literally these passages, in order to show 
the eagerness of the British authorities in claiming the juris- 
diction in those places of Venezuela, adding to the words the 
facts. 

On the other side, the following paragraphs are to be found 
in a note sent by the British Legation at Caracas, the 8th Jan- 
uary, 1885, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela: 

"In a dispatch dated London, the 28th November, I am di- 
rected by Her Majesty's Government to attract the attention 
of that of Venezuela to the proceedings of the Agents of the 
Manoa Company in certain districts, the sovereignty of which 



162 



is equally claimed by H. M.'s Government and that of Vene- 
zuela. 

Earl Granville further instructs me to request the Venezue- 
lan Government to take steps to prevent the Agents of the 
Manoa Company or of Mr. H. Gordon, who has also a con- 
cession for colonization from the Venezuelan Government, 
from asserting claims to, or interfering with any of the terri- 
tory claimed by Great Britain. 

Her Majesty's Government, in the event of that of Vene- 
zuela declining to move in this matter, would, to their great 
regret, feel themselves under the necessity of adopting meas- 
ures for preventing the encroachment of the Manoa Company 
and the Governor of British Guiana would even be instructed 
to emplov an adequate Police force for the prevention of such 
encroachment and the maintenance of order. 

Lord Granville goes on to inform me, however, that no 
steps will be taken by the Governor of British Guiana pend- 
ing this reference to the Venezuelan Government. 

I need hardly remind Your Excellency that the question of 
the Boundary of British Guiana is one of long standing, and 
that communications upon the subject are at the present 
-moment taking place between Her Majesty's Government and 
the Venezuelan Minister in London, and it is therefore all the 
more important that incidents calculated to cause grave incon- 
venience should be prevented. The territories irrespective of 
those disputed by Venezuela and Great Britain, conceded to the 
Manoa Company are enormous in extent ; but without enter- 
ing into that portion of the question, I feel certain that His 
Excellency, the President of the Republic, will duly appre- 
ciate the immense importance of obviating the possibility of 
•any collision between the Agents of that Company and the 
British Authorities in the territories, the sovereignty of which 
is still a disputed question." 

The 26th of the same month of January Mr. Mansfield 
-wrote again to the Government, informing that orders had been 
transmitted to the Governor of British Guiana to send Mr. 
Mc. Turk (Stipendiary Magistrate), accompanied by an ade- 



163 



quate body to the police, for the purpose of making, in the 
District on the eastern bank of the river Amacuro, an inquiry 
into the operations of the Manoa Company, and more spe- 
cially into the conduct of Mr. Robert Wells and others who 
are accused of having tortured people, hanging them up for a 
time by their ankles, etc. The Legation observed morever that 
Mr. Mc. Turk would proceed in accordance with the laws 
which are in force in the other parts of British Guiana, and 
called to mind that the words of the contract with the Manoa 
Company are textually : "as far as British Guiana." In con- 
nection with this circumstance, the British Minister says fur- 
ther that Mr. Fitzgerald has the following statement in his Re- 
port on the territorial concession of the Great Delta of the 
Orinoco to the Manoa Company: About ten miles to the 
Southwest of Punta Barima is the mouth of the river Ama- 
curo, which in 1800 formed the frontier between British Gui- 
ana and Venezuela:" wherefrom it would appear that the 
place of. which notice has been taken, is not even claimed by 
the Manoa Company. Finally it is mentioned by Mr. Mans- 
field that the Governor of British Guiana had sent infor- 
mation to London that the posts erected by order of the Gov- 
ernment of said Colony, the i ith October, on the eastern bank 
of the river Amacuro, and in other places, to prevent the 
usurpation of the territory, which was claimed by the British 
crown had been removed and sent to Ciudad Bolivar as it was 
presumed, by order of the Government of Venezuela ; and it 
is added that this incident might possibly become the cause 
of a correspondence of a character little satisfactory, if it did 
not lead to serious inconvenience in the future. 

The passages copied and the fact narrated contain the ex- 
plicit affirmation that the British Authorities have executed 
the most solemn acts of jurisdiction in places, which they at 
the same time declare to be a matter of dispute with Vene- 
zuela; that is to say, that they have infringed and continue to 
infringe the agreement proposed by H. B. M., "neither to oc- 
cupy nor to usurp the disputed territory. The infraction is 
so much the more serious, as violence has been used in the pro- 



164 



ceedings, just as if there never had been the slightest con- 
troversy about the dominions of those places. The Govern- 
ment in London has therefore shown no consideration what- 
ever for the rights of Venezuela, but decides quite alone upon 
the superiority of those alleged by Great Britain and conse- 
quently passed on to acts of violence. 

It is a not less notable circumstance that no previous steps 
were taken to acquaint the Government of the Republic, not 
even through this Legation, with the motives of complaint, 
on which the appeal to force was to be founded. Such a pro- 
ceeding is in contradiction with the amity, fostered so care- 
fully by Venezuela, and intended to render still more perfect 
by the accreditation of a first-class representative in London. 
It is likewise contrary to the practice of nations, which before 
making use of reprisals, adopt measures of reconciliation and 
amicable intelligence, as required by the consideration to 
which they are entitled mutually. 

Mr. Mansfield stated in a note of 8th January, that the 
Governor of British Guiana would not take any steps, whilst 
there was pending the request to the Government of Venezuela 
that the agents of the Manoa Company, or Mr. H. Gordon, 
should be prevented from claiming or obstructing any part of 
the territory claimed by Great Britain. This friendly measure 
would not have failed to give good results if at the same time 
had not been already executed the orders resolved upon by 
the British Government. Some days later, on the 24th Jan- 
uary, Mr. Mansfield informed that since the iith October, 
1884, posts had been erected, by order of the Governor of 
British Guiana, on the eastern bank of the river Amacuro, 
and in other places. The 31st January the Governor of the 
Territory Delta communicated to the Executive Power, that 
an English commission had entered the mouth of the Ama- 
curo, arrested tne civil commissioner appointed there by the 
first authority of said Territory, and left in the place a body 
of police. 

The assertion of Mr. Fitzgerald, that in 1800 the frontier 
between Venezuela and British Guiana was at about ten miles 



165 



to the South-East of the River Amacuro, has no foundation 
whatever. To be convinced of it, it will be sufficient to re- 
member that Great Britain, in that year, had not acquired as 
yet any right to the part of Guiana which was ceded by Hol- 
land, and that the river Essequibo had been the frontier be- 
tween the colony, belonging to the latter country and the 
Spanish possessions, as Venezuela always has sustained. The 
mistake committed by Mr. Fitzgerald certainly cannot do pre- 
judice to the rights of the Republic. 

It must not be overlooked moreover, that the grant given to 
this gentleman does not indicate any specified limits, only the 
words " as far as British Guiana " being used, as Mr. Mansfield 
repeats in one of the passages quoted from his correspondence. 
Notwithstanding all this, the operations of the Manoa Com- 
pany have been made use of as a pretext for detrimental ac- 
tions against the rights of Venezuela. 

The circumstance that the posts have been removed, which by 
order of the Government of British Guiana were erected on the 
eastern bank of the river Amacuro, and in other places, is 
nothing else than a protest against the pretensions of Great 
Britain ; for if Great Britain believes to be the owner of those 
places, the Republic is sure that they are Venezuelan property; 
and if those signs had been left untouched, the object they 
were erected for would have been recognized, so that to-mor- 
row the assent of Venezuela to such an arrogation of British 
dominion might be alleged. These signs would be proofs of 
the occupation of a territory which H. M. has engaged not 
to occupy, nor to usurp," by a spontaneous act of her Govern- 
ment, presented with much interest to be accepted by Vene- 
zuela. In the case, which is denied, that this country had com- 
mitted an infraction of the same duty it had contracted, the 
first thing would have been to make friendly remonstrances in 
order to obtain redress for the fault ; instead of appealing to 
one-sided and pressing measures, that hurt the dignity of a 
sovereign State which sees, more than ever, threatened the in- 
tegrity of its territory in one of the most important parts, viz., 
the great river Orinoco, which discharges into the Ocean the 



166 



numerous streams bathing the soil of the Republic and that of 
neighboring countries, and forming the principal communica- 
tions, not onlv between the different regions of her own terri- 
tory but also between them and foreign domains, the forestall- 
ing of the most splendent future in the natural progress of the 
young nations of America. 

In the last proposition of an arrangement made bv the Brit- 
ish Government to Venezuela, it is stated that as the capital 
point for Venezuela was the possession of the Orinoco, a line 
was indicated which would begin about 29 miles to the East of 
the right bank of the river Barima ; this line was not accepted 
bv Venezuela, which insists upon the Essequibo being the 
frontier. 

The Government of the Republic gave ^Ir. Mansfield the 
assurance that in accordance with the words of the contract 
"as far as British Guiana," the limits of the grants did not 
trespass those of the disputed territory, and promised most 
sincerely that steps would be taken to elucidate the facts, as 
the ]\Ianoa Company had been accused of having transgressed 
those limits. Very properly the Government took advantage 
of this opportunity to recall the fact that on the i8th October, 
1884, an English man-of-w-ar entered the mouth of the Ori- 
noco ; arrived at the Light-Ship ; asked for a pilot to sail up- 
stream, but that this request was denied, the vessel not being 
bound for any port open to foreign commerce, as the law re- 
quires ; that notwithstanding this opposition the ship went to 
Amacuro, and on the following day to Guiana by way of 
Barima. after having erected posts in all the points visited, 
with printed declarations of dominion ; proceedings, which had 
called most earnestly the attention of the Government althouorh 
at first they were doubted on account of the extraordinary 
character of the facts. 

In his second note His Excellency, the ^Minister of For- 
eign x\£fairs, expressed to ]\Ir. Mansfield the great surprise 
with which the Federal Executive had seen the contents of 
his note of the 26th January, both in reference to the acts at- 
tributed to Mr. Robert Wells, as well as to the orders given to 



167 



the Governor of British Guiana, to send the Judge Mr. McTurk^ 
accompanied by an adequate body of police, to make inqui- 
ries into the operations of the Company on the eastern bank 
of the river Amacuro, although it was working on territory be- 
longing without any doubt to Venezuela. " This surprise of 
the Government," continues the Minister, "became greater 
still after the receipt, yesterday, of a telegram from the Gov- 
ernor of the Territory Delta, by which he communicates the 
news that an armed force, sent by His Excellency the Gov- 
ernor of British Guiana, had penetrated into the Territory of 
Venezuela, arrested by compulsion the Commissioner at the 
mouth of the Amacuro, and carried him off after having left in 
the place a body of police. Setting aside all the other events 
of which Your Excellency is already informed, this last one is 
enough for Venezuela to consider herself attacked in regard to 
the sacred rights of her dominion, and for her to call most 
earnestly your attention, that you may dictate the measures 
that the case calls for, in order that such proceedings be repaired 
and everything brought back to the state in which it was be- 
fore, in accordance with ih.^ stattc quo in force, which determines 
that neither of the two nations shall exercise jurisdiction in 
any part whatever of the disputed territory. This becomes the 
more indispensable, that negotiations are being carried on be- 
tween Venezuela and great Britain with a view to put an end 
to the long-standing dispute about the frontier between both. 
The Plenipotentiary of the Republic has received instructions 
to press the negotiations, and these evidently would lead soon 
to the wished-for reconciliation if those improper proceeding 
were avoided, which have all the aspects of hostilities, and are 
in open contradiction with the respect of the principles of ter- 
ritorial dominion and justice, that should distinguish the rela- 
tions between civilized nations." 

In accordance with the instructions I have received from my 
Government, and in consideration of what has been stated, I 
beg to enclose a copy of the agreement which was accepted by 
said Government at the request of Mr. Wilson, British Charge 
d' Affaires in Caracas, and I respectfully ask : 



168 



1st. The removal of all signs of sovereignty erected in the 
disputed territory by order of the Governor of British Guiana. 

2d. The recall of all functionaries and public force which 
may have been stationed there. 

3d. Satisfactory explanations for the non-fulfillment of the 
agreement proposed to Venezuela by Great Britain, and for the 
infraction of the laws of the Republic in regard to ports not 
open to foreign vessels. 

4th. The anulment of the proceedings against Mr. Robert 
Wells, his liberty, and an indemnity for the damages resulting 
from his capture, imprisonment, trial, and punishment for the 
imputation of an act of misdemeanor on Venezuelan territory. 

5th. The complete re-establishment of things to the state 
in which they were in 1850, in which year was made the agree- 
ment referred to, and strict orders to the Governor of British 
Guiana to faithfully observe it, until the two Governments ar- 
range the question of the frontier. 

I renew, etc. 

Guzman Blanco. 

His Excellency Earl Rosebery, H. B. M's. Principal Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs, &c., &c., &c. 



169 



Part IX. 

Dr. Urba?ieja to Mr. St. John. 

Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Caracas, December 7th, 1886. 

Sir : 

In accordance with the order of the President of the Re- 
public, as the result of the conference we held with him 
yesterday, I have the honour of addressing Your Excellency 
and stating in substance what he then expressed. 

He said that his attention had been seriously called by the 
grave character of the intelligence received as to occurrences 
taking place, it is affirmed, in Guiana in regard to its boundary 
with British Guiana. He recalled the agreement made in 1850 
by an interchange of notes between the two Governments on 
a spontaneous proposal of the British Government, and upon 
the ground of information sent from Ciudad Bolivar by Vice- 
consul Mathison to Mr. Wilson, Charge d' Affaires at Caracas, 
respecting the transmission of orders to the authorities of the 
province of Guiana to put the same in a state of defence and 
to repair and arm the dismantled forts, and the language used 
by Governor Jose Tomas Machado as to the erection of a fort 
at the Barima Point ; and on account also of a rumour spread 
to the effect that Great Britain intended to claim the province 
of Venezuelan Guiana. Besides giving it the lie by affirming 
that not only was it destitute of any foundation, but also that 
it was precisely the reverse of the truth, Mr. Wilson declared 
in the name of his Government that the latter had no inten- 
tion to occupy or encroach upon the territory in dispute, and 
that it would not ordain or sanction such occupation or encroach- 
ments on the part of British authorities. At the same time he 
requested and obtained from the Government of the Republic 
analogous declarations. She has kept such an agreement by 



170 



preserving the statu quo, while Great Britain has infringed it, 
since, besides the acts of jurisdiction consummated from 1884, 
it has been ascertained that she has just now in the channels 
formed by the rivers Amacuro and Barima, about which there 
has been no question before, a Commissary provided with two 
vessels containing arms and policemen, who levy taxes and 
prohibit persons going there on mercantile business] from car- 
rying out their operations ; that she has had built a govern- 
ment house on which the British flag has been and is con- 
stantly hoisted ; that a church and school-houses are being 
constructed ; that in October last a small war steamer was 
there ; that a revenue-cutter often runs on the track between 
Amacuro and Barima ; and that they have begun to form on 
the same spot an agricultural colony. 

Even in the denied assumption that those places were a part 
of the disputed territory, Great Britain might not have occupied 
them without violating the above compact. And if, in spite of 
everything, she occupies them, with still greater reason they 
should be reoccupied by Venezuela, relieved as she is from 
any obligation on the ground of its infraction by the other con- 
tracting party, and being, as she is, fully conscious of her^undis- 
putable right of property. 

The President said likewise that the concessions to the 
Manoa Company could not have given to Great Britain a just 
ground of complaint, as according to their unequivocal terms 
they only extended as far as ** British Guiana," that is to say, 
as far as points not contentious, and moreover that the con- 
tract on the subject had expired. 

On the above statement, and on the strength of an applica- 
tion made by the British Legation with the utmost instancy, 
in an official note to this Ministry, of May 26th, 1836, for the 
erection of a Beacon at the Barima point, thus recognizing 
motu proprio the incontestable sovereignty of Venezuela over 
the same, the President added that he was going to send there 
an engineer instructed to erect the Beacon, and new officers 
to exercise authority for the Republic in said place and in 
those lying between the rivers Barima and Amacuro, and to 



171 



notify to the foreign occupants their withdrawal from them. 
And he ended by saying that, if the Government of Her Bri- 
tannic Majesty would occupy such a point as Barima, the pos- 
session of which would render it joint proprietor of the Ori- 
noco, and decide in this manner by itself and in its favor this 
for Venezuela, the most grave question, wresting from her by 
force the exclusive domain of that river, and presenting thus 
to her an indubitable casus belli, he should be compelled by 
the requirements of patriotism and by his high duties as the 
guardian of the territorial integrity of Venezuela, to break up 
the relations between the two countries. 

The President has instructed me to write this note, in order 
that Your Excellency may communicate to me the informa- 
tion and antecedents 3'ou may know of in regard to so unheard 
of and almost incredible occurrences. 

I renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my high and 
distinguished consideration. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 

His Excellency F. R. Saint John, Her Britannic Majesty's Minister Resident^ 
&. &. &. 

Mr. St. jfohiL to Dr. Urbaneja. 

British Legation. 
Caracas, December 9, 1886. 

Sefior Ministro : 

I have had honour to receive Your Excellency's note of the 
7th instant, in which, by order of the President, you record 
that which in substance was stated by His Excellency, at our 
interview of the 6th instant, on the Guiana frontier question, 
and in which you invite me to furnish you with any informa- 
tion I possessed in regard to certain alleged proceedings on 
the part of British authorities in Guiana. 

I beg to state in reply that the President having declined 
before resorting to the occcupation of a part of the disputed 
territory, to await the result of ^ my reference of his intention 
to Her Majesty's Government, I fail to see how compliance 



172 I 

with Your Excellency's request or continuance of the disl 
cussion by me can now answer any useful purpose. I 

But I must, nevertheless, in order to avoid error, remark oil 
two points treated in your note — firstly, that the territory lyinJ 
between the rivers Barima and Amacuro, which is affirmed by 
Your Excellency to be only now claimed by Her Majesty's 
Government, was already mentioned in Lord Aberdeen's note 
of March 30, 1844, to Senor Fortique, as forming part of 
British Guiana — and, secondly, that the request of the 26th of 
May, 1836, by the British Agent at Caracas to the Venezuelan 
Government, that they should erect a lighthouse at Barima 
Point, appears from my thorough search in the archives of this 
Legation to have been addressed to the Venezuelan Govern- 
ment without any knowledge or authority of the British Gov- 
ernment, to whom it was never even reported by the Agent — 
and to have been made solely at the suggestion of certain mer- 
chants of Ciudad Bolivar, who were interested in the removal 
of danger in the navigation of the Orinoco River. 

If Your Excellency will be good enough to refer to a com- 
munication made on the 26th of September, 185 1, by this Le- 
gation to the Venezuelan Government by order of Her Maj- 
esty's Government, you will find it there stated, with reference 
to another subject, that such a doctrine as that a Government 
is bound by every act or word of its Diplomatic Agent is 
entirely at variance with International Law; it being perfectly 
well known that even a formal treaty, concluded and signed 
by a Plenipotentiary, is not valid unless it shall have been duly 
ratified by the Government of such Plenipotentiary. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurances of my highest consideration. 

F. R. St. John. 

His Excellency Dr. Diego B. Urbaneja, etc., etc., etc. 



173 



Df. Urbaneja to Mr. St. John. 

Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Caracas, January 8, 1887. 

Sir: 

I have had the honor of receiving Your Excellency's note, 
dated on the 9th of last month, in answer to the request made 
by the Government to your Legation, to kindly furnish them 
with any information and antecedents you might possess on 
certain acts of British authorities. 

The President of the Republic, to whom I read said answer, 
has instructed me to say to Your Excellency that he deeply 
regrets that the friendly spirit which moved him to apprise 
Your Excellency of the news he received, and of his intention 
to send out an engineer and new officials to Barima, Amacuro 
and other places, should have been ineffectual. Your Excel- 
lency refuses to give an explanation which might, perhaps, 
have modified that purpose, either in its principle or in the 
time of its execution, for which reason His Excellency has 
instructed me to say here that at all times, the interview held 
on 6th ultimo, at his own request, and the note sent to Your 
Excellency by this Department, in which all that took place in 
said interview is summarily stated, will be a proof of the loyal 
frankness and of the conciliatory wishes in this matter of the 
Chief of the Venezuelan Nation. 

I would contine myself on this occasion to the preceding 
statement, if Your Excellency had not added two remarks, 
-notwithstanding your declaration not to accede to what had 
been requested from you, nor to continue the discussion on 
your side, because those two remarks call for an explanation. 

In the first place Your Excellency contra<iicts my assertion 
regarding the territory situated between rivers Barima and 
Amacuro, alleging that this territory had already been men- 
tioned in Lord Aberdeen's note of the 30th of March, 1844, 
Mr. Fortique, as a part of British Guiana. 

Venezuela has never admitted, neither will she ever admit, 
that Dutch Guiana bounds upon the Orinoco ; and this is 



proved by the text of the note with which Mr. Fortique openea 
the negotiation on limits, by the previous ones, in which he 
demanded the removal of the flags, posts, and marks placed at 
Barima and other places by Engineer Schomburgk in 1841, 
and by the conferences he held on the subject with Their Ex- 
cellencies the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of the Colonies. 
It was precisely the placing of these marks of foreign dominion 
at the places mentioned, to which Great Britain had no right, 
that created such a sensation in Venezuela, and caused the 
sending of Messrs. Lie. Jose Santiago Rodriguez and Juan 
Jose Romero to Demerara, in the character of Commissioners, 
to demand an explanation of those surprising facts. In a note 
dated nth of December, 1841, Lord Aberdeen wrote to Mr. 
Fortique that the marks had been placed as a means of prep- 
aration by his Government for the discussion of the boundary 
question with the Government of Venezuela; that they were 
placed precisely with this object, and not, as Venezuela seemed 
to fear it, with the intention of indicating dominion or empire 
on the part of Great Britain. Lord Aberdeen added, that he 
had learnt with pleasure that the two Commissioners sent by 
the Republic had been able to ascertain, through the infor- 
mation given them by the Governor of said Colony, that Point 
Barima had not been occupied by the English authorities. 

The usurpations which Spain made legal by the Munster 
Treaty were those concerning the Colonies of Essequibo, 
Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam, and was afterwards con- 
firmed by the Extradition Treaty made at Aranjuez, in which 
Your Excellency may see that the Dutch Colonies of Esse- 
quibo, Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam, together with Cu- 
racao and Saint Eustace, are mentioned in juxtaposition with 
the Spanish Colonies of the Orinoco, Coro, and Porto Rico. 
Of these Colonies, the Netherlands transferred to H. B. M., 
by the London Treaty of 13th of August, 1814, those of Esse- 
quibo, Demerara, and Berbice. Whence comes, then, the 
right of England over the Spanish Colonies of the Orinoco.^ 

The second remark made by Your Excellency is to the 
effect that the British Agent in Caracas, that is, Sir Robert 



175 



Ker Porter, who, in 1836, was the British Charge d' Affaires in 
this Republic, requested from this Government the erection of 
a lighthouse at Point Barima, withoutthe knowledge or consent 
of his Government; and Your Excellency adds, quoting a note 
from the British Legation to this Department, dated on the 
26th of September, 185 1, that the doctrine, that all acts or 
words of a Diplomatic Agent bind his Government, is incom- 
patible with International Law, it being a well-known fact that 
not even a Treaty made by a Plenipotentiary is vaHd unless 
ratified by his Government. 

On those points the President has instructed me to state that 
the Government of Venezuela cannot admit that, after the long 
period of fifty years has elapsed since the date of Sir Robert's 
communication, the British Government having been informed 
by him or his successors of the step he took, should not have 
apprised that of Venezuela of the lack of authorization which 
Your Excellency, on account of what has happened, commu- 
nicates to-day for the first time, after fifty years have elapsed, 
and which nothmg could make this Government presume upon. 

I beg to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my 
distinguished consideration. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 

To His Excellency F, R. St. John, etc., etc. 



Mr. St. John to Dr. Urba?ieja. 

British Legation. 
Caracas, January 19, 1887. 
Senor Mi?iistro : ' ' 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excel- 
lency's note of the 8th instant on the subject of my interview of 
the 6th ultimo with the President of the Repubhc, and must 
express to you my astonishment at one of the statements it con- 
tains, namely, that it was owing to my neglect to furnish ex- 
planations regarding certain alleged proceedings on the part of 
British Authorities in Guiana, and my refusal to enter upon a 
discussion of the question generally, that the President was in- 



176 



duced to persist in his intention to occupy Barima Point by- 
erecting there a lighthouse. 

Permit me, sir, to state briefly my recollections of the main 
features of the interview in question. 

The President commenced by saying he had received news of 
the gravest kind, that British authorities were in actual occu- 
pation of the territory lying between the Barima and Amacuro 
rivers, territory which His Excellency alleged — and I denied — 
belonged to Venezuela and had never been disputed, and he 
asked me to explain such conduct. To this I replied, that I 
was unable to do so for the reason that I had until that moment 
not heard a single word on the subject of the alleged occupation, 
and I suggested that perhaps there might have been one of the 
usual police expeditions in pursuit of criminals. 

His Excellency then proceeded to inform me that he intended 
immediately to occupy Barima Point, by erecting there a light- 
house, and he should, he continued, instantly break off relations 
with Great Britain if opposed. 

Your Excellency will doubtless recollect that at this stage of 
the interview I ventured to remonstrate with the President on 
his determination to precipitate matters, and I asked for time in 
order to communicate by telegraph with Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment and await an answer. But His Excellency refused on 
the ground, he said, that he had determined to bring this long- 
pending question at once to an issue — and on my asking, at the 
termination of the interview, if he authorized me to telegraph 
to Her Majesty's Government in the sense of what he had just 
stated. His Excellency answered in the affirmative. 

Your Excellency|will also recollect that on the following day I 
called at the Department, where I was received by yourself and 
Senor Seijas — that I besought you to speak with the President 
and induce him to reconsider his decision — offering to keep back 
for twenty-four hours my telegram to Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment, which I did accordingly — but to no purpose, and so my 
message to England was at last dispatched. 

I trust Your Excellency will now perceive not only how im- 
possible it was to supply the information asked for, but how 
difficult it would have been for me, consistently with my duties,. 



177 



to have entered unauthorized by my Government upon a dis- 
cussion of a question the aspect of which has so entirely changed 
by this new and unexpected resolve on the part of the President 
of the Republic. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurances of my highest consideration. 

F. R. St. John. 

P. S. — Your Excellency mentions in the second paragraph of 
your note under acknowledgment the sending of new func- 
tionaries to Barima, etc. I shall be obliged if Your Excellency 
will inform me when such functionaries were sent there on 
former occasions, and how long they remained. 

F. R. St. J. 

His Excellency Doctor Diego B. Urbaneja, etc., etc., etc. 



Caracas, January 15, 1887. 

To the Mi?iister of Foreign Affairs: 

In fulfillment of the Commission which on the 8th of the past 
month the President of the Republic was pleased to entrust to 
me through you, I sailed from the harbor of La Guayra on the 
man-of-war Centenario for Barcelona. 

The next morning at 8 o'clock I touched at this port, simply 
with the object of delivering to the Commander of the Garrison 
the equipments sent to him by the Minister of War, and at 10 
o'clock proceeded on my journey towards Trinidad. 

On the i6th, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, we cast anchor in 
the Port of Spain, and, together with the Venezuelan Consul 
there, I immediately proceeded to take in the provisions of coal 
and oil that were needed in the ship, and to get a pilot for the 
navigation of the Orinoco. 

At midnight we sailed for Bolivar through Branch Macareo. 

I arrived in Ciudad Bolivar on the 19th, at 5 o'clock in the 
afternoon, and without loss of time proceeded to communicate 
with Mr. Juan Bautista Dalla-Costa and General Santiago Rodil 
in order to form the Commission in accordance with the in- 
structions I had received. 

The 20th, 2 1st, and 22d days of the month I spent in Bolivar 



178 



in conference with the aforesaid gentlemen, and in collecting- 
information, obtaining plans, and taking note of the persons 
practically acquainted with the places that were to be surveyed. 

Two acts, signed by the three members of the Commission, 
were drawn, and may be seen in process-verbal annexed to the 
present note. 

On the 22d, at 6 o'clock in the evening, the river steamer 
Libertad, which, by order of the Minister of War, had been 
placed at the disposal of the Commissioners, sailed from said 
city, with instructions to wait for orders at Curiapo. 

General Santiago Rodil and I sailed in the morning of the 
23d, at half past six, on board the Centenario, Mr. Dalla-Costa 
having excused himself from accompanying us on account of 
ill-heath. 

On arriving at Curiapo the next day, the 24th, at a quarter 
past one in the morning, the Commissioners went on board the 
Libertad. The Centenario was instructed to go and cast anchor 
at Point Barima, and wait there, while at the same time the 
Libertad sailed towards the month of River Amacuro in order 
to enter it. 

We entered this river at half past twelve in the afternoon, and 
sailed up to a settlement which has been formed on both banks 
of it, not very far from the mouth. 

The Commisioners took depositions from several inhabitants, 
from which it may be seen that the English have fixed upon the 
right bank of this river Amacuro as their limit with Veuezuela, 
and that they exercise authority on said bank, where the Com- 
missioners found two English Constables, and a wooden house, 
with a thatched roof, erected by the Government of British 
Guiana to serve as a public office. All this is mentioned in the 
acts drawn by the Commissioners on the spot. 

On the following da}^ the 25th of December, we left River 
Amacuro, heading for Branch Barima. 

Before I continue this report, and for the better understand- 
ing of what I shall state therein, allow me, Mr. Minister, to 
point out an error existing in Codazzi's map of Venezuela, 
which he doubtlessly copied from maps which had been pre- 
viously pubHshed, and others have copied from him. 



179 



A large portion (fifty miles from the mouth towards the 
East) of what is shown under the name of River Barima on 
the aforesaid map of Codazzi, together with what is called 
therein Branch Morajuana (which is only five miles long) 
forms a branch of the Orinoco towards the East, on its right 
bank similar to branch Macareo poured by the great river on 
its left bank towards the North. I call then Branch Barima 
that fluvial portion which is one of the mouths through which 
the Orinoco pours its waters into the Ocean; and Barima Island,, 
formed by that branch and the sea, is one of those that consti- 
tute the immense Delta of the grand River, which embraces 
the space comprised between the mouth of river Waini and 
the mouth of Branch Vagre, 

The real River Barima w^hich has its source at the foot of 
the Imataca hills on their Eastern side, and runs in a great 
measure from the West to the East, turns then to the North 
and joins River Aruca, and the waters of both proceed to pour 
into the aforesaid branch Barima. 

This Branch Barima is very broad, clean, has not very large 
turnings and mostly all of it has a depth of more than twenty 
metres. 

I saw only three farms or conucos on this branch. 

We entered River Aruca at half past three and an hour 
after we cast anchor opposite to the settlement which has been 
formed on both banks of this river. This settlement is the 
most considerable one which we noticed in all that territory, 
having a population of more than two hundred souls. 

The Government of the neighboring EngHsh Colony exer- 
cise authority there through a Rural Constable who collects 
taxes and prohibits the commerce of rum and tobacco, as is 
stated in the act drawn by the Commissioners on the spot. 

We left Aruca at 6 o'clock in the evening in order to pass 
the night at anchor at the mouth of branch Morajuana, which 
we entered the next day, the 26th, at a quarter past five in the 
morning, going over it in one hour, until we reached the great 
mouth of the River Waini; immediately continuing to go up 
said river, which is of the utmost importance, until half past 



180 



two in the afternoon, when we arrived at a place called 
Cucurital, where there are two Venezuelan coniicos (farms). 

At a quarter to four we resumed our journey up the river 
and at half past four passed before the mouth of Branch Par- 
aman, which, on the East, pours into River Moroco. 

I call special attention to this branch, as it is through it that 
commerce is carried on between Demerara and the settlements 
which had been visited previously. 

We sailed until seven o'clock in the evening, at which hour, 
it being very dark, we made fast to the shore, to continue our 
journey next day. 

On the 27th, at half past five in the morning, the journey up . 
the Waini was resumed, until seven in the morning, at which 
hour we arrived before the settlement called Cuabana, com- 
posed altogether of Guaica Indians. This settlement mav 
have about eighty inhabitants who live in ten ranches, gov- 
erned by a protestant missionary, who has erected there a hut 
to serve as a church and at the same time as a school. The 
Commissioners drew an act at this place in which are men- 
tioned all the circumstances which have been observed in 
regard to the matter entrusted to them. 

As stated in the annexed process-verbal, the Commissioners, 
.-at all these settlements, publicly proclaimed that all those ter- 
iritories belong to Venezuela and not to Her Britannic Maj- 
'esty, and protested against all acts of authority exercised by 
the Government of the neighboring Colon}^, they being acts 
of obvious usurpation. 

The Commissioners, on returning to Point Barima, stopped 
at the settlement of Morajuana, which is composed of nine 
ranches giving shelter to sixty inhabitants. 

At all the settlements mentioned the Commissioners ap- 
pointed Police Commissaries to represent there the authority 
of Venezuela. 

The morning of the 29th was employed in going down to 
Point Barima in order to survey the spot where the lighthouse 
is to be erected, at which spot the crew of the Centenario had 



181 



already spent two days in clearing the woods, according to my 
instructions, to facilitate said survey. 

On the preceding night the steamer Libertad had been sent 
back to Bolivar, and at nine o'clock in the morning of the 29th 
the Commissioners sailed for Georgetown on board the steamer 
Centenario. 

On the 31st of December, at half past two o'clock in the 
afternoon, we cast anchor in the river Demerara, off 
Georgetown. 

On the following day, the first of the year 1887, the Com- 
missioners addressed to the Venezuelan Consul in Demerara 
the note, copy of which will be found in the annexed process- 
verbal, for him to communicate it integrally to the Governor 
of the Colony. 

The present Consul, Mr. Andrade, had not yet received his 
Exequatur as such, and it was necessary to take some prelim- 
inary steps to have the Government of the Colony recognize 
him provisionally as Consul, to enable him to transmit the note 
of the Commissioners. 

On the 7th of January Mr. Andrade delivered to the Com- 
missioners the answer of the Government of British Guiana, 
the original of w^hich is joined to the annexed process-verbal. 

Having received this conclusive answer from the Governor 
of Demerara, in which it is stated that Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government has declared as part of the territory of British 
Guiana all of the extensive territory comprised within the 
fanciful boundaries marked out by Schomburgk as well as the 
Essequibo, which is by right the frontier of Y enezuela, the 
Commissioners considered their work at an end, as with this last 
step they had carried out all the instructions which were com- 
municated to me on the 8th of December last by the Depart- 
ment in your charge. 

On the 8th of January, at eleven o'clock in the morning, we 
sailed from Demerara and at half-past six in the morning we 
arrived in Port of Spain where the Commissioner, General 
Rodil, went on board the Rermudez in order to return to Bolivar. 

On the following day, the nth of January, at half-past twelve 



182 



in the afternoon, we sailed from Port of Spain and on the 13th, 
at half-past two in the morning, we cast anchor in the harbor of 
La Guayra. 

For the better understanding by the Government in the read- 
ing of this report and the annexed process-verbal, I subjoin also 
a map which I have drawn of the oriental part of Venezuela. 

I trust that the Illustrious American, President of the Re- 
public and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will notice that I 
have spared no efforts to carry out in the best possible manner 
the delicate, and thereby most honorable Commission that was 
entrusted to me. 

I am, Mr. Minister, your most obedient servant, 

Jesus Muxoz Tebar. 



Act No. I. 

Doctor Jesus Munoz Tebar and Messrs. Juan Bautista Dalla- 
Costa and Santiago Rodil having assembled at Ciudad Bolivar, 
at 8 o'clock in the morning of the 20th of December, in the 
year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, the first named 
handed to the second and the third respectively, the notes sent 
to them by the Minister of Foreign Affairs dated on the 8th of 
of this month, by which they were appointed Commissioners 
at Amacuro and Barima, together with the first named. 

Doctor Munoz Tebar then proceeded to read the instructions 
given him by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the same date, 
to wit, the 8th of this month, and also communicated the verbal 
instructions which he had received from the President of the 
Republic in a conference held on the seventh. 

Mr. Juan Bautista Dalla Costa then stated that on account of 
the serious alteration of his health, it was impossible for him to 
accept an active part in the Commission ; but he would trans- 
mit to the other two Commissioners all his opinions and in- 
formation on the subject. 

Mr. Santiago Rodil stated that he accepted the Commission 
and in consequence took before Doctor Munoz Tebar, delegated 
to that effect by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the legal oath 
to faithfully and exactly obey the Constitution and laws of the 
Republic and fulfill the special duties of this Commission. 



183 



Another meeting was decided upon for that same day at two 
o'clock in the afternoon, when the several maps and plans of the 
places to which the Commission refers will be laid before the 
Commissioners, and to which Captain Ricci will be invited to 
attend, he being practically acquainted with the navigation of 
said places and possessing special information in the matter to 
which the Commission refers. 
And the meeting was adjourned. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar. 

Juan Bautjsta Dalla-Costa, 

Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 2. 

Doctor Jesus Mufioz Tebar and Messrs. Juan Bautista Dalla- 
Costa and Santiago Rodil having assembled at Ciudad Bolivar 
at two o'clock in the afternoon of the twentieth day of Decem- 
ber, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, and Captain 
Antonio Ricci being also present, they proceeded to examine 
and study the several plans of the mouths of River Orinoco, in 
order to agree upon the best plan of operations that the Com 
missioners should adopt in order to carry out their instructions. 

It was decided to take the small steamer Libertad to accom- 
pany the national steamer Centenario which has come under the 
orders of the Commissioners, and to proceed with both vessels to 
the great mouth of the Orinoco, carrying Captain Ricci on 
board ; to anchor the steamer Centenario at Point Barima, to go 
up the Amacuro River on the Libertad, then return to Point 
Barima, and land there in order to make the surveys necessary 
for the erection of the lighthouse ; then to enter the mouth of 
the Barima still on the Libertad, and come out through that of 
the Waini, passing through Branch Morajuana ; the steamer Cen- 
tenario will wait at the mouth of the Waini ; then to go up the 
Waini and return in order to proceed on the Centenario to 
Georgetown, Demerara, there to obtain the last information and 
documents that the Commissioners propose to procure. 

Mr. Juan Bautista Dalla-Costa then stated that he thought it 
was of the utmost importance for the future decisions to be 



184 



taken by the Government of Venezuela, by virtue of the facts 
that the Commission has to investigate, to find out with the 
greatest precision, the places where the present developments 
of gold mines are taking place, which have been authorized by 
the Government of British Guiana, as he thinks that they are 
being carried on on Venezuelan territory, and, as the Commis- 
sioners are going to Demerara where their duties will end, he 
thinks they should avail themselves of the fact of their having 
gone that far, for at least one of the two Commissioners to pro- 
ceed to the spot where the gold mines are being worked, as it is 
said, between Rivers Cuyuni and Puruni ; which was approved 
by the Commissioners. 

And the meeting was adjourned. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar. 

Juan Bautista Dalla-Costa. 

Santiago Rodil. 

At the last minute Captain A. Ricci asked to be excused 
from accompanying the Commissioners. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar. 
Rodil. 



UNITED STATES OF VENEZUELA. 
National Commission. 

Act No. 3. 

The Commissioner sent by the National Government to 
Amacuro, Barima and other places, according to a Resolution 
of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the 8th of this month, 
sitting on the 24th of December, 1886, at the settlement of 
Amacuro, at one o'clock p. m., have decided to summon citi- 
zens Roberto Wells, Alfonso Figueredo, N. N. Morgado and 
Aniceto Ramones, with the object of taking their depositions- 
on matters regarding the object of the Commission. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar. 
Santiago Rodil. 



185 



Act No. 4. 

Immediately thereupon, Citizen Roberto Wells, a Commis- 
sary of this settlement, appeared, and after being informed of 
the object for which he was summoned, he swore to tell the truth 
and declared : That it is true that in the month of January, 1884, 
he was arrested at this same settlement by a Mr. McTurk, who 
stated that he was a magistrate of the neighboring English Col- 
ony; that he was taken to the Georgetown, Demerara, Gaol, 
where he remained two months while being tried by the Tribu- 
nals of Justice of said Colony ; that in order to recover his liberty 
he had to pay the sum of twenty-five dollars in which he was 
fined ; that it is true that there are on the Eastern branch of 
the Amacuro, at this same settlement, two persons called Fran- 
cis Nunez and George Jeffrie, who style themselves Constables 
appointed by the Government of the neighboring English Col- 
ony ; that they have erected a wooden house which serves as a 
public office ; that the month before last, an English Magistrate,, 
accompanied by several armed policemen, came to this settle- 
ment on board a revenue-cutter flying the English flag and exer- 
cised acts of authority in said house or public office, over which 
the English flag was likewise hoisted. This deposition was read 
to him and he declared it to be correct, and he does not sign it 
because he does not know how. Citizen Ernesto Courlaender, 
Captain of the national steamer Libertad doing so for him and 
at his request. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar. 
Santiago Rodil. 

By request of Roberto Wells. 

E. COURLAENDER. 



Immediately thereupon Citizen Aniceto Ramones, a sailor on 
the rivers Orinoco, Amacuro, Barima and Waini, appeared, and 
after being informed of the object for which he was summoned, 
he took the oath in the form prescribed by law and stated : 
That it is true there is a schooner called the Transfer which 
serves as a revenue-cutter for the Government of British Guiana, 
and that said schooner has come to this settlement on various 



186 



■occasions bringing on board an English Magistrate and armed 
policemen with the special object of trying, judging and deciding 
upon criminal and police cases, which acts he exercises as an 
English authority, in a wooden house with a thatched roof, 
which serves as a public office and is situated upon the Eastern 
bank of River Amacuro, at this same settlement and over which 
the English flag is hoisted; that whenever his sloop Joven 
Modesta comes in, a Police Constable, who claims to have been 
appointed by the Government of the Colony in Georgetown, 
Demerara, comes on board to search the vessel and prohibits 
him from selling the merchandise which has been lawfully dis- 
patched by the Custom-House at Ciudad Bolivar ; that the same 
prohibition exists at River Barima, for which reason he has to 
leave his cargo on the west shore of River Amacuro, as he is not 
allowed to sail to Branch and River Barima except in ballast ; 
that in order to allow him to trade on the right bank of the 
Amacuro and.on River Barima, he is required to take out a license 
in the city of Georgetown ; that he knows also, that Citizen 
Roberto Wells, a Venezuelan Commissary, was arrested at this 
same settlement and taken to the Georgetown Gaol by an Eng- 
lish Magistrate who came expressly from that city to arrest him. 
This deposition having been read to him, he declared it to be 
correct and signs it with us. 

Jesus Munoz Teb.\r. 
Santiago Rodil. 
Aniceto Ramones. 



Next appeared a citizen who gave his name as Alfonso Fi- 
gueredo, a Venezuelan, of the settlement of Amacuro, who, 
being informed of the object for which he was summoned, took 
the oath prescribed by law and stated : That it is true that in 
the month of June of the present year the English authorities 
erected a wooden house with a thatched roof on the Eastern 
bank of the River Amacuro at this same settlement, to serve as 
a public office; that it is true that the Government of the En- 
glish Colony in Georgetown, Demerara, appointed to be Con- 
stables on the Eastern bank of the Amacuro, Francis Nunez and 
George Jeffrie, who exercise authority in this capacity ; that 



187 



said Constables levy taxes upon licenses, without which they 
do not allow trade ; that it is true that an English revenue-cut- 
ter has come from Georgetown, carrying on board an English 
Magistrate accompanied by armed policemen. This deposition 
having been read to him, he declared it to be correct and signs 
it with us. » Jesus Munoz Tebar, 

Santiago Rodil, 
Alfonso Figueredo. 
We certify that Citizen N. N. Morgado has not deposed, it 
having been impossible to summon him. 

Munoz Tebar. 
Rodil. 

Act No. 5. 

On the same date the Commissioners decided to remove to 
the Eastern bank of the River Amacuro, in order to ascertain 
for themselves the existence of the house which the witnesses 
Wells, Ramones and Figueredo had declared to have been 
erected tO'Serve as a public office by the English authorities of 
the neighboring Colony, and to ascertain if Francis Nunez and 
George Jeffrie had really been appointed Police Constables by 
the Governnnent of Georgetown. Having done so, the Com- 
missioners found that a wooden house does really exist, which 
was erected by order and at the expense of the Government of 
the neighboring English Colony ; and that two individuals, sub- 
jects of Her Britannic Majesty, called Francis Stephen Neame 
and George Benjamin Jeffry (not Nunez and Jeffrie as stated in 
the depositions of the witnesses) are in reality the Police Con- 
stables who have been appointed by a Magistrate of the English 
Colonial Government, who, in consequence of our requisition, 
presented to us their credentials, which are of the following 
tenor : 

BRITISH GUIANA. — L. S. 
PRECEPT. 

THE RURAL CONSTABLES ORDINANCE, 1 884. 

To Fraiicis Stephe7i Neame of Amacuro River, British Guiana. 

I, Michael McTurk, one of Her Majesty's Stipendiary Magis- 
trates in and for the Colony of British Guiana, do, under the 



188 



power and authority in me vested by the Rural Constables Or- 
dinance, 1884, hereby appoint you, 

Francis Stephen Neame, 
to be a Rural Constable, and I do issue to you (being duly qual- 
ified under the said ordinance to be so appointed) this precept 
authorizing you to act as a Rural Constable in British Guiana. 
Given under my hand, this 6th day of September, 1886. 

Michael McTurk, 
Stipendiary Magistrate. 



The Commissioners being desirous of obtaining a written an- 
swer in fulfillment of the orders of the Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs, decided to address to the aforesaid Neame and Jeffry the 
following official note, to which was annexed the corresponding 
EngHsh translation : 

United States of Venezuela. 
Amacuro, December 24, 1886. 
Messrs. Francis Neame and George Jeffry : 

The undersigned having been commissioned by the President 
of the Republic to reorganize the commissaryships in the dis- 
tricts of Amacuro, Barima, and Waini, which form a part of the 
territory Delta, have been surprised with the news that you are 
exercising authority in this place by order and as the represent- 
atives of the Government of the neighboring Colony of British 
Guiana. 

The territory comprised between the rivers Amacuro and 
Waini is Venezuelan, and has never been considered under dis- 
pute with England, and therefore the action of appointing at 
these places official Agents of the English Colony is one of ob- 
vious usurpation, against which we protest in the name of the 
Government of Venezuela. 

We hope that you will kindly inform us by what authority 
you have been appointed and from what date, and if you have 
received orders to oppose the Venezuelan authorities from ex- 
ercising office in these territories. 

We are your obedient servants, 

Jesus Munoz Tebak, 
Santiago Rodil. 



189 



To this note the aforesaid Neame and Jeffry returned answer, 
the original of which is annexed, marked by the letter A, and 
is as follows : 

Amacuro River, 
British Guiana, December 24, 1886. 

Gentlemen : 

The undersigned have received the official note dated the 24th 
of December, 1886, requesting us to answer you about our ap- 
pointment by the English Government of Georgetown, Deme- 
rara, and we have the honour to tell you in reality we have been 
appointed by Mr. Michael McTurk, one of her Majesty's 
Stipendiary Magistrates in and for the Colony of British Guiana, 
to be a Rural Constable in British Guiana as you have seen it 
in the Precept signed by said Michael McTurk which we have 
shown to you. We also inform you that the undersigned, 
Francis Stephen Neame, has been acting as Rural Constable 
since the ist of March, 1885, and the undersigned, George 
Benjamin Jeffry, has been appointed acting as Rural Constable 
since the 6th of September, 1886, Constables in Amacuro 
River. 

We have not received instructions to interfere with the Vene- 
zuelan authorities on the left shore and going down the Amacuro 
River, but we have authority to prevent any Venezuelan craft 
from selling rum or any spirituous liquor under British territories, 
in which case any ship selling rum without a proper license 
given by our Government may be seized at any time. 
We remain, gentlemen, your obedient servants, 

Francis Stephen Neame, 
G. B. Jeffry. 

To Mr. Dr. J. Munoz Tebar and Santiago Rodil, 



In view of this answer and in fulfillment of one of the in- 
structions received, the Commissioners made a public declara- 
tion before the inhabitants of this settlement, that the. sovereign 
of those territories is Venezuela and not Her British Majesty. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



190 



Act No. 6. 

To-day, the 25th day of December, 1886, the Commissioners 
having resolved on proceeding to branch and river Barima in ful- 
fillment of their instructions, ratified the appointment as PoHce 
Commissary of the Western bank of the Amacuro ot citi- 
zen Roberto Wells who, for the past two years, has filled this 
office to the satisfaction of the Government of Venezuela, and 
appointed citizen Alfonso Figueredo Police Commissary of the 
Eastern bank of said river, issuing to both of them the respec- 
tive commissions. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 7. 

At a sitting on the same date, and on board the national 
steamer Centenario anchored off Point Barima, the Commis- 
sioners decided to appoint citizen Leon Silva as Commissary 
in the settlements lying on the northern bank of branch Barima, 
and citizen Pedro Farrera as Commissary in the settlements 
lying on the southern bank of the aforesaid branch Barima, to 
both of whom the respective commissions were issued. 

Immediately thereupon the Commissioners decided to remove 
to the national steamer Libertad, in order to explore branch 
Barima and enter the Aruca River. 

Jesus Muxoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 8. 

On the same day, the 25th of December, 1886, at 5 o'clock 
p. M., the Commissioners held another sitting at the settlement 
of Aruca, lying on both banks of the river of the same name ; 
and having been informed that there was at that place a PoHce 
Constable, appointed by authority of the Government of the 
neighboring English Colony, the Commissioners had him looked 
for. An inhabitant, Alexander Orderson by name, informed 



191 



them that there is in fact at the settlement of Aruca an indi- 
vidual by the name of Harrington, who exercises authority as 
PoHce Constable, and was appointed by E. F. Jm. Thurn, who 
is a Justice of the Peace at Macarena on the River Pomaron : 
but that at present the aforesaid Harrington is absent, in George- 
town ; that he has been in office for the past three months, at 
which time the murder of a coolie (a native of Hindoostani) took 
place ; that the Justice of the Peace, Mr. Jm. Thurn, came there 
expressly to try the murderer (an Indian called Samuel), and 
eventually took him to Georgetown, where he was sentenced by 
the Courts of Justice to five years imprisonment in the gaol of 
the Mazaruni. 

In answer to a question of the Commissioners, as to whether 
the inhabitants did not know that these territories belonged to 
Venezuela, 'Mr. Orderson said that up to the time that several 
American gentlemen of the Manoa Company came there, all 
the inhabitants considered themselves in this place as upon 
Venezuelan territory ; that after that time agents of the Gov- 
ernment of the neighboring English Colony had informed them 
that this territory belongs to Her British Majesty ; that he had 
mercantile relations ^.oji the. Orinoco, but that the English 
authorities had prohibited the bringing of merchandise from 
Venezuela, for selling, especially rum and tobacco. This same 
information was confirmed by the inhabitants Pascual Moreno, 
Edward Harding and William Peters. 

On account of its being a holiday the inhabitants of the place 
had met in large numbers at the house of Mr. Orderson, and 
the Commissioners availed themselves of this circumstance to 
notify them that Venezuela is the sovereign of the whole of 
this territory, and not Her Britannic Majesty; and that in con- 
sequence the Government of the English Colony had no right 
whatever to exercise acts of authority therein, the Commis- 
sioners protesting against such acts in the name of the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela. 

The Commissioners then issued a warrant appointing citizen 
Jose Pascual Moreno Commissary in the settlement of Aruca 
on both banks of the river of this same name. 



192 



The Commissioners certify that at this settlement there is no 
public building erected by the English government. 

The Commissioners then decided to return to the mouth of 
branch Morajuana in order to continue their journey next day 
through this branch to River Waini. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 9. 

The Commissioners spent the next day in passing branch 
Morajuana, which they entered at five o'clock in the morning 
and in going up the river Waini, passing by the settlements of 
Cucurital and the mouth of River Paraman in search of the 
village of Huapana, where it is said there is a church and a 
school-house, established there by the English authorities, 
which, however, could not be reached although sailing until 
seven o'clock in the evening, at which hour the steamer Liber- 
tad was made fast to the bank of said river Waini, to wait for 
the next day. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 10. 

To-day, the 27th of December, 1886, the Commissioners 
held a meeting at the village of Cuabana, lying on the right 
bank of the river Waini, where there is a hut with a thatched 
roof which serves as a Protestant church and at the same time 
as a public school. 

The English Government has no Police Constable in this vil- 
lage, but Jacobus Ingles said that there is one, appointed by 
said Government, at a village called Guaramuri, lying on the 
banks of river Moroco. 

The Commissioners declare that all the inhabitants of the 
village of Cuabana are Guaica Indians, who preserve their own 
language. 

The undersigned informed the master, Jacobus Ingles, that 



193 



they had gone there as Commissioners for the President of the 
Republic, to notify the inhabitants of these settlements that 
the territory upon which they lie belongs to Venezuela and not 
to her Britannic Majesty, and required him to notify of this 
the aborigines who inhabit the village. 

The Commissioners remark that in the Marriage-Registers 
kept at this place by the missionaries, it is called Saint Agathas 
Kwabannch in the parish of the River Waini, county of 
Essequibo. 

Jesus Muxoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. i i. 

On the same day, the 27th of December, the Commissioners 
issued the following appointments as Commissaries : To Fran- 
cisco Arela for the settlement of the mouth of branch Paraman ; 
and to Prospero Cedeno for the settlement of Cucurital, both 
on the bank of river Waini. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 12. 

At a sitting on the 28th of December, 1886, on board the 
national steamer Libertad, anchored off the settlement of Mora- 
juana, lying on both banks of the branch of the same name, 
the Commissioners decided to appoint citizen Jose Ignacio 
Garcia Commissary, and notified him, in order that he should in- 
form all the inhabitants, that this territory does not belong to 
Her British Majesty's Government but to that of Venezuela. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 13. 

On the same day, the 28th of December, 1886, the Commis- 
sioners, sitting on board the national steamer Centenario, an- 
chored off Point Barima, taking into consideration all the diffi- 
culties that the National Government will meet with in com- 
municating frequently with the Commissaryships created by 



194 



the undersigned, and considering the advantages presented by 
the position of the village of Curiapo, lying on the Great mouth 
of the Orinoco, to make it the head of all these Commissary- 
ships, have decided to appoint an inhabitant of this village 
Mayor (Jefe Civil) of said village and of all the territory em- 
bracing the Commissaryships that have been reorganized by 
the Commissioners ; and in consequence, issued this appoint- 
ment to citizen Aniceto Ramones, who has done useful ser- 
vices to the Commissioners ; accompanying them in all their 
excursions as pilot on the rivers Amacuro, Barima, Aruca, and 
Waini. 

The Commissioners then decided to address the following 
official telegram to the President of the Republic, which will be 
conveyed to Ciudad Bolivar by the Captain of the Libertad, sail- 
ing this evening for that port. 

IlliisUioiis American, President of the ReptibliCy Caracas: 

On the Eastern bank of river Amacuro we found a house 
serving as a public office, erected by the English and two Con- 
stables with Commisssons issued by the authorities of the neigh- 
boring Colony. We have a written answer from the latter. On 
branch Barima, River Barima and branch Morajuana there are 
only a few isolated farms [conucos). On the Aruca, an affluent of 
the Barima, there is a considerable settlement with an English 
Constable whom we did not meet there, he having gone to 
Georgetown. We sailed up the Waini a distance of more than 
one hundred and fifty miles, as far as the village of Cuabana. 
There is at this place a hut that serves as a church and school- 
house. At all these places we have publicly proclaimed that the 
territory belongs to Venezuela and not to Her British Majesty. 
We have appointed ten Commissaries. The Libertad returns to 
Bolivar carrying this dispatch, w^iile we go on to Georgetown 
in the Centenario. The spot for the erection of the lighthouse 
at thisPoint has been surveyed. 

Jesus Munoz Tebar. 
Santiago Rodil. 
This same dispatch was directed to the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. 

Jesus Muxoz Tebar 
Santiago Rodil. 



195 



Act No. 14. 

At a sitting- on the ist of January, 1887, on board the na- 
"tional steamer Centenario, anchored in the River Demerara, off 
Georgetown, the Commissioners decided to address the follow- 
ing note to the Venezuelan Consul in this city. 

On board the Venezuelan Man of War Centenario, 

Anchored in the River Demerara, off Georgetown. 

January ist, 1887. 

To the Venezuelan Consid in Georgetown : 

We the undersigned have come, as you may have seen it by 
the credentials which we have presented to you, as Commis- 
sioners for the President of the Republic of Venezuela, to study 
and put into execution the affairs which we now proceed to 
state to you. 

As the large increase of navigation on the Orinoco has made 
it urgently necessary, the President of the Republic has decided 
upon the immediate erection of a lighthouse at Point Barima 
.and this is one of the objects of our Commission. 

But, as besides this, the Government of Venezuela has re- 
ceived information that on the Amacuro, Barima, Waini and 
other rivers there are some individuals who style themselves 
Constables, claiming to have been appointed by the authorities 
-of this EngHsh Colony, the President of the Republic has like 
wise ordered the investigation of these facts and the reorganiza- 
tion of the Commissaryships in the settlements lying on the 
banks of the aforesaid rivers; and this is another of the objects 
.entrusted to the Commissioners. 

In fulfilment of the instructions we have received and after 
having begun the preparatory work for the erection of the light- 
liouse at Point Barima, we proceed to explore the Amacuro 
river, branch Barima and branch Morajuana and the Barima, 
Aruca and Waini Rivers. We did in fact find at the settlement 
of Amacuro a wooden house with a thatched roof, which we 
were told had been erected by order of the authorities of this Col- 
ony, and two individuals who presented to us their Commissions 
as Constables, signed by Michael McTurk Stipendiary Magistrate. 
At the settlement of Aruca we were informed by the inhabi- 



196 



tants there was also a Constable, whom we did not meet, as he- 
had come to this city. At Cuabana, on the banks of river Waini, 
a missionary, the Reverend Walter Heard, erected seven years- 
ago, at the expense of the village, a hut which serves as a 
church and at the same time as a school, the master of which 
is paid by a religious congregation ; but in the marriage and 
other registers which are kept there, it stated that said village 
belongs to the County of Essequibo. 

At all these places and in fulfilment of the orders of the Presi- 
dent of the Republic, we have protested in the name of Vene- 
zuela against such acts, and have notified the inhabitants that 
those territories belong to Venezuela and not to Her Britannic 
Majesty. 

We shall make you, Mr. Consul, a rapid sketch of the prom- 
inent facts of this matter. 

You are aware that the question of Hmits between Venezuelan' 
Guiana and British Guiana is pending. Venezuela has ahyays- 
claimed as her limits the left shore of the Essequibo ; but since 
1803 Great Britain, alleging the existence of Dutch Forts on: 
the other side of the Essequibo, took possession of considerable; 
territory. 

Venezuela has been constantly protesting from an early date 
aaginst such proceedings and endeavoring to bring about a con- 
vention of limits between the two countries. 

Engineer Schomburgk, who visited the country in 1841,, 
marked out limits which were exceedingly fanciful, as they were 
based upon no previous facts nor did they rest upon any docu- 
ment, but solely upon purely geographical considerations. He 
placed a sentry-box, and planted posts and other marks of 
dominion at Port Barima. The timely and just remonstrances^ 
of Venezuela against such pretensions succeeded in obtaining 
their removal, and then negotiations were commenced for a 
treaty of demarcation. The Plenipotentiary of Venezuela pro- 
posed that it should be drawn at the Essequibo and Lord Ab- 
erdeen at the Moroco. The death of the Plenipotentiary of 
Venezuela unfortunately interrupted the negotiation. 

In 188 1 Lord Granville already desisted from the line of his 
predecessor and asked that it shonld commence above the Mo- 



197 



roco, twenty-nine miles to the east of the eastern bank of 
river Barima. Venezuela has not accepted this proposition and 
asks for arbitration as the most reasonable way of putting an 
end to these matters between two nations who have preserved, 
as they now preserve, relations of friendship, frank and sincere. 

A Convention exists which, on the i8th of November, 1850, 
was proposed by Mr. Wilson, British Charge d' Affaires at Car- 
acas, who, on account of the rumor having spread that a Fort 
was about to be erected at Point Barima, declared in the name 
of his Government that the latter had no intention whatever of 
occupying or encroaching upon the territory in dispute; neither 
would they order or sanction such occupations or encroachments 
on the part of their authorities, and he requested and obtained a 
similar declaration from the Government of Venezuela. But 
we must remark to you, Mr. Consul, that Venezuela has never 
looked upon the lands watered by the Amacuro, the Barima, 
and the Waini as being disputable territory. 

It is evident, Sir, that England has never considered herself 
co-proprietor with Venezuela of the mouths of the Orinoco, 
and the Amacuro empties much above its great mouth, and 
Point Barima lies on the great river, ^and branch Barima, together 
with branch Morajuana, forms an outlet to the Orinoco on its 
right bank towards the east in all respects similar to that formed 
on its left bank towards the north by the Macareo, the Peder 
nales, and other branches which pour into the Gulf of Paria, 
all of them constituting the Great. Delta of this river of which 
Venezuela is the sole and exclusive proprietor. 

As one of the many proofs that Venezuela has of Great 
Britain's having coincided with these ideas, I enclose a copy of 
the note written on the 26th of May, 1836, by the British Le- 
gation in Caracas, urgently asking for the erection of a light- 
house at Point Barima. 

The last news recently received by the Government of Ven- 
ezuela was to the effect that gold mines are being worked on 
our territory lying between the Cuyuni, the Mazaruni and the 
Puruni rivers, and that large quantities of this mineral have al- 
ready been exported through the Custom House of the city. 

One of the instructions received by the undersigned Commis- 



198 



sioners, is to the effect that, should the latest invasions of our 
territory prove to be true, as they have proved, we were to 
come to this city and lay them before you, which we do by this 
note, for you to transmit them to His Excellency the Governor, 
requesting an answer from him on the facts which we have 
stated to you. 

Immediately upon the receipt of this answer, which we hope 
you will obtain in the shortest possible time, we shall return to 
Venezuela, 

Besides all this, you will kindly inform us in a note of all 
that you may know in relation to these affairs, accompanying, 
said note with all the official documents that you may be able 
to procure. 

We are. Sir, with high consideration, 
Your most obedient servants, 

Jesus Muxoz Tebar, 
Santiago Rodil. 



Act No. 15. 

At a sitting on the 8th of January, 1887, on board the na^ 
tional steamer Centenario, anchored in the river Demerara, off 
Georgetown, the Commissioners read the following note sent 
by the Consul of Venezuela : 

Consulate of the United States of Venezuela. 

Georgetown, Demerara, January 8th, 1887. 
Messrs. Commissioners Doctor Jesus Miinoz Tebar and Santiago' 
Rodil : 

Gentlemen : — On the ist of the present month I had the 
honor of receiving your note of same date, but as I have not 
yet received my exequatur, I had to solicit permission from the 
Government of the Colony to enter into the discharge of my 
office, which permission was granted me on the 5th of this 
month, after certain formalities. On this day I transmitted to 
His Excellency the Governor of this Colony a certified copy, 
as well as a translation, of the aforesaid document. On the 
following day, the 6th inst., I received an answer from His Ex- 



199 



cellency the Governor, the original of which I enclose after 
having taken a copy for the Archives of the Consulate. 

Little or nothing- can I add, Gentlemen, to what you already 
officially know. The only thing to which I can call your atten- 
tion is the manner in which this matter has been decided by 
the Government of Great Britain. They have already es- 
tablished authorities at the most important points of the 
usurped territory, especially in the mining district lying between 
the rivers Cuyum, Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Puruni, where 
there is at present a mining population of from three to four 
thousand men. 

According to the last statement of the Custom-House, there 
were exported through this Custom-House about 6,518 ounces 
of gold against 936 in the preceding year. This was all clay- 
gold. I send you herewith several newspapers, especially the 
official ones of the last months, in which you will find news 
about this mining and boundary question. 

I am, with the highest consideration, your most obedient 
servant, Manuel L. R. Andrade. 

The note of the Government of the Colony, to which the 
foregoing dispatch refers, is as follows : 

British Guiana — In replying, quote date hereof and No. 141. 
— Government Seal. — Government Secretary's Office: George- 
town, Demerara, 6th of January, 1887. 

Sir : — I am directed by His Excellency, the Governor, to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 5th instant, re- 
porting the arrival here, on the 31st ultimo, of the Venezuelan 
Gunboat Centenario, having on board Senores Dr. Jesus Mu- 
fioz Tebar and Santiago Rodil. 

Your letter embodies an official note in which those gentle- 
men have communicated to you the object of their visit to Brit- 
ish Guiana. 

I am desired, in reply, to refer you to the notice dated the 
2ist of October, 1886, published in the London Gazette by au- 
thority of Her Majesty's Government, a copy of which is here- 
with enclosed, and to state that the Districts referred to in the 
official note enclosed in your letter are included within the Hm- 



200 



its, as designed by the terms of that notice, and form a part of 
the Colony of British Guiana. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Charles Bruce. 

To Manuel L. R. Aiidradc, Esq., Acting Consul for Venezitela: 

I certify that the above signature is the true signature of 
Charles Bruce, Secretary-General to the Government of this 
Colony. 

Consulate of the United States of Venezuela in Georgetown, 
Demerara, 7th of January, 1887. 

Manuel L. R. Andrade. 

(Seal of the consulate.) 
Extract from the London Gazette, dated 22d October, 1886: 

Colonial Office, Downing Street, October 21, 1886. 

The Colony of British Guiana. 

Whereas, the boundary line between Her Majesty's Colony 
of British Guiana and the Republic of Venezuela is in dispute 
between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of 
Venezuela ; and whereas, it has come to the knowledge of Her 
Majesty's Government that grants of land within the territory 
claimed by Her Majesty's Government as part of the said Col- 
ony have been made, or purport to have been made, by or in 
the name of the Government of Venezuela, notice is hereby 
given that no title to land, or to any right in or over or affect- 
ing any land within the territory claimed by Her Majesty's 
Government as forming part of the Colony of British Guiana, 
purporting to be derived from or through the Government of 
Venezuela or any officer or person authorized by that Govern- 
ment, will be admitted or recognized by Her Majesty or by the 
Government of British Guiana, and that any person taking pos- 
session of or exercising any right over any such land, under 
color of any such title or pretended title, will be liable to be 
treated as a trespasser under the laws of the said Colony. 

A map showing the boundary between British Guiana and 
Venezuela, claimed by Her Majesty's Government, can be seen 
in the Library of the Colonial Office, Downing Street, or at the 



201 



office of the Government Secretary, Georgetown, British Guiana. 
Certified a true extract from the London Gazette. 

C. Bruce, 

Consulate of the United States of Venezuela. 
I certify the above to be the true signature of Charles Bruce, 
Secretary-General to the Government of this Colony. 

Manuel L. R. Andrade. 

(Seal of the Consulate.) 

The Commissioners, considering that by the receipt of the 
foregoing notes the object for which they were sent by the Na- 
tional Government has been achieved, decided to consider their 
work at an end and to return to Venezuela to present their re- 
port to the President of the Republic. 

Jesus Muxoz Tebar. 
Santiago Rodil. 

Dr. Urbaneja to Mr. St. John. 

Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Caracas, January 26, 1887. 
Sir : — In conformity with the information given to Your Ex- 
cellency by this Department on the 7th of December last, the 
President of the Republic sent Engineer Dr. Jesus Munoz Tebar 
and General Santiago Rodil as Commissioners to Barima and 
other points, with the views which have already been m'en- 
tioned. 

The Chief of the Commissioners has just returned here, and 
has reported to the Government the results of their work. 

The grave news which caused this step to be taken has unfor- 
tunately been confirmed. 

In the first place the Commissioners found two Constables at 
the settlement lying on the right bank of the Amacuro, to wit, 
Messrs. Francis Stephen Neame and G. B. Jeffry, who showed 
them the warrants which appointed them Rural Constables," 
issued on the ist of March, 1885, and on the 6th of September, 
1886, respectively, by Mr. Michael McTurk, calling himself a Sti- 
pendiary Magistrate of Her Majesty, in and for the Colony of Brit- 
ish Guiana. In answer to a communication of the Commissioners, 



202 



said Constables assured them that they had received no orders 
to oppose the Venezuelan authorities of the left bank, which 
should descend the Amacuro ; but that they had authority to 
prevent any Venezuelan vessel from selling rum or spirituous 
liquors on British territory, and, they added, that any vessel 
selling rum without a proper license from their Government 
(z. e. , that of Demerara) might be seized at any time. 

At the aforesaid settlement of Amacuro the Commissioners 
took sworn depositions from the Venezuelan Commissary, Mr. 
Roberto Wells, and from Messrs. Aniceto Ramones and Alfonso 
Figueredo. These depositions corroborated the facts of the 
capture and kidnaping of the first named at the aforesaid place, 
his conveyance thence to Georgetown, and his imprisonment in 
the gaol of that city during two months, his trial and sentence 
to pay a fine of twenty-five dollars. They ascertained, besides, 
that a wooden house, with a thatched roof, which serves as a 
public office, and over which flies the English flag, had been 
erected by and at the expense of the Colonial Government, 
which house the Commissioners saw. They, in the same 
manner, proved the fact that an English Revenue Cutter, called 
the Transfer, had, on several occasions, gone to Amacuro, 
having on board a British Magistrate and armed policemen, who 
went there with the object of trying, giving judgment, and de- 
ciding criminal and police cases; and that at Amacuro, as well 
as at Barima, vessels are searched which have been legally dis- 
patched in Ciudad Bolivar ; which vessels are forbidden from 
selling their goods and from going on to Branch Barima, unless 
in ballast, requiring them to provide themselves with permits 
in Georgetown, before allowing them to transact any business. 

The Commissioners went to the right bank of the Amacuro, 
where they communicated both verbally and in writing with 
the aforesaid Constables. They then proceeded to the settle- 
ment of Aruca, where they were told that there was a Constable, 
Harrington by name, who was away at the time, and that a Jus- 
tice of the Peace had been there three months before on account 
of the murder of a coolie, the author of which had been ar- 
rested and taken to Georgetown for trial. He was sentenced 
to five years' imprisonment. 



203 



At Cuabana, a settlement lying on the right bank of River 
Waini, they found a hut, serving as a Protestant church and 
public school, which had been erected by direction of Mis- 
sionary Walter Heard. In the Marriage Registers which are 
kept there, it is stated that that place belongs to the County of 
Essequibo. No Constable was found at this place ; but, ac- 
cording to the information given by the schoolmaster, Mr. Ja- 
cobus Ingles, the Colonial Government has one at the village 
of Guaramari, on the banks of River Moruca. 

The Commissioners ascertained likewise that gold mines were 
being developed by the English authorities on our territory 
situated between Rivers Cuyuni, Mazaruni, and Puruni, and 
that large quantities of this mineral had already been exported 
through the English Custom-house. 

The Commissioners finally proceeded to Georgetown, and, 
though the Venezuelan Consulate in that city, acquainted the 
Governor of Demerara with the objects of their Commission, 
the measures they had taken by virtue of same and the viola- 
tions of Venezuelan territory which they had discovered. The 
Secretary of said British official simply answered, on the 6th of 
this month, that he referred the Commissioners to the notice 
published in the London Gazette of 21st of October, 1886, a copy 
of which he enclosed ; and stated that the districts referred to 
in the official note of the Commissioners were included in the 
boundaries established by the terms of the notice, and are part 
of the Colony of British Guiana. 

It is proclaimed and notified in said notice that: whereas the 
boundaries between British Guiana, one of Her Majesty's Col- 
onies, and the Republic of Venezuela, are under dispute be- 
tween Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Ven- 
ezuela, and, whereas, Her Majesty's Government has received 
information that the Government of Venezuela has made, or is 
about to make, grants of land within the territory claimed by 
Her Majesty's Government, such titles will not be admitted or 
recognized, and any person taking possession of said lands, or 
exercising any rights thereon, on pretence of such titles, will 
be prosecuted as trespasser, according to the laws of the Colony. 
In conclusion the notice says, that in the Library of the Colonial 



204 



Office in Downing Street, or in the Office of the Government's 
Secretary in Georgetown, British Guiana, may be seen a map 
showing the boundaries between British Guiana and Venezuela 
claimed by Her Majesty's Government. 

One cannot understand why these boundaries are not specified 
in the notice itself, but have been left to a map which is sepa- 
rated from the notice with which it is connected. 

There is, then, not the slightest doubt that an extensive por" 
tion of Venezuelan territory, and the great artery on the north 
of the South American Continent, the Orinoco, are, de facto, 
under the dominion of Great Britain, under the fragile pretext 
that there is a dispute about limits between the Republic and 
Her Majesty's Government. The logical conclusion from the 
existence of a controversy about the proprietorship of lands 
and waters would be, at most, the convenience of neutralizing, 
by common consent, the places in litigation, pending the de- 
cision of same. But for one of the contending parties to 
decide upon the appropriation of the object under controversy 
by himself, and in contempt of the rights of the other, is, by 
the light of all jurisprudence, an unjustifiable violation of the 
most sacred right of a nation ; it is a deadly wound inflicted 
upon the sovereignty of the Republic. Great Britain has re- 
proved, in a similar case, the self-same action which she to day 
takes with Venezuela. 

According to the Order issued by the King of Spain in 1768, 
the Province of Guiana was bounded on the South by the Am- 
azon and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean ; so that the ac- 
quisitions of other Powers within those limits were not valid 
until they were made lawful by the posterior consent of said 
Monarch. In regard to the Netherlands, to whose rights Great 
Britain has succeeded, the only portion that was left in their 
possession of the aforesaid territory, were the establishments 
of Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice and Surinam, of which the 
Dutch had taken possession during the long war with their old 
metropolis which came to an end by the treaty of Munster in 
1648. The fact of the Dutch not owning then any other colo- 
nies but those mentioned is confirmed by the Extradition 
Treaty made in Aranjuez between Spain and the Netherlands, 



205 



toward the close of the i8th Century, on the 23d of June,. 
1791, in which treaty only these are enumerated. And it must 
be remarked, that the Dutch could not continue advancing 
upon the Spanish possessions, because Article 6 of the Mun- 
ster Treaty prohibited them from navigating towards them and 
from transacting any business with them. They continued ad- 
vancing notwithstanding this ; but, far from consenting to these 
new usurpations, Spain appealed to arms in order to repel 
them. Lord Aberdeen himself in his note of 30th of March, 
1844, to Mr. Fortique, recalls the fact that in 1797 the former 
attacked the fort of New Zealand, the unfavorable issue of this 
attack being here of no importance. What it is intended to 
prove, is, not the superiority of her forces over the Dutch gar- 
rison, but the opposition to the latter's advances. Therefore, 
all that was beyond the Essequibo was out of the jurisdiction 
of Holland, who, on the other hand, only made over to Eng- 
land in 1S14 the establishments of Essequibo, Demerara and 
Berbice. 

In 1844 Lord Aberdeen proposed the Moroco as the bound- 
ary. 

In 185 1 Lord Granville presented to Venezuela a line which 
commenced 29 miles to the east of the eastern shore of Ba- 
rima. 

In 1886 Lord Rosebery asked for a frontier which should 
start from the seacoast towards the west of River Waini. 

In 1868 the Governor of Demerara, in a decree on the divi- 
sion of registers, did not establish a more northerly one than 
that of the Pomaron. 

It was on the 6th of November, 1886, that, annulling that 
decree by order of Her Majesty's Government, he established 
new divisions which reach as far as the Eastern shore of the 
Amacuro. 

It was also in 1885 and 1886 that he appointed Constables 
for Amacuro. 

In 1841 Engineer Schomburgk fancifully marked out the 
boundaries claimed to-day by her Majesty's Government and 
planted posts and other marks. 

The Republic having taken alarm at these facts, the Govern- 



206 



ment sent two Commissioners to Demerara to request an ex- 
planation, and instructed their Minister in London to demand 
the removal of the marks. 

The Governor of Demerara said to the Commissioners that, as 
the limits were in reality undetermined and under discussion, 
Mr. Schomburgk's action had not been, nor could not have 
been, taken with the intention of taking possession, but as a 
simple marking out of the lined presumed upon by British 
•Guiana, and therefore, while the limits should be undetermined, 
the Government of Venezuela might be certain that no forts 
would be ordered to be erected, on the land in question, nor 
would soldiers or forces of any kind be sent there. 

On his side Lord Aberdeen answered that the marks placed 
by Mr. Schomburgk at some points of the country, which he 
had surveyed, were simply a preliminary step subject to future 
discussion between the two Governments ; that they were the 
only tangible means of preparing to discuss the question of 
limits with the Government of Venezuela, and that they were 
placed with that express object, and not, as the Government of 
Venezuela seemed to fear it, with the intention of indicating do- 
minion or empire on the part of Great Britain. He added that 
he was glad to learn from Mr. Fortique's note that the Com- 
missioners sent by this Government to British Guiana had been 
able to ascertain, through the information given by the Gov- 
ernor of that Colony, that Point Barima had not been occupied 
by British authorities. This was written on the iith of De- 
cember, 1 84 1. 

Shortly after, on the 31st of January, 1842, Lord Aberdeen 
ordered the removal of the marks, with the object of putting 
an end to the misunderstanding existing in Venezuela with re- 
gard to the object of Mr. Schomburgk's survey, and in atten- 
tion to the renewed representation of Mr. Fortique. 

It is beyond the intelligence of Venezuela to conciliate the 
proceedings of that time, by which it was rendered evident that 
possession could not be taken of the territory, and the fact of 
to-day, by which the British Government has arrogated the do- 
minion of what it alleges to claim. 

And I must here record that Venezuela never understood 



207 

that the proprietorship of the places situated on this side of the 
mouth of the Pomaron was disputed from her, but only that of 
those between that river and the Essequibo, and this is 
clearly proved by Lord Aberdeen's proposal, who was satis- 
fied with the mouth of the Moroco as Western boundary of the 
British possessions. 

But even admitting, for the sake of argument, that the land 
in litigation was larger, this v/ould not give Great Britain a bet- 
ter right to occupy it, not only by reason of the cause itself, 
but because she made the engagement not to occupy the terri- 
tory in dispute. 

I refer to the Convention made in November, 1850, by the 
exchange of notes, with Mr. Wilson, British Charge d' Affaires,, 
at his own request and in pursuance of the definite instructions 
of his Government. This gentleman first of all declared devoid 
of foundation and the reverse of the truth the rumors then 
generally prevalent here, that Great Britain wanted to claim the 
Venezuelan Guiana as her property ; he next declared that 
Great Britain would not occupy or encroach upon the territory 
in dispute, neither would she order such occupation or en- 
croachment, nor sanction it on the part of her authorities ; and 
he requested and obtained a similar declaration from Ven- 
ezuela. 

It is therefore clear that Great Britain has violated this con- 
vention, which was her own work, by entering Venezuela 
through forbidden places, visiting rivers Waini, Morajuana, 
Amacuro and Branch Barima ; by posting notices on the trees 
of the shores, whereby it was intimated that her laws were in 
force there ; by appointing Constables ; by carrying away a 
Venezuelan Commissary under the pretext that he had ill- 
treated a Portuguese subject, although this was in the juris- 
diction of the Republic, taking him to Georgetown, impris- 
oning him, trying him and inflicting a fine of twenty dollars : 
by establishing a public office at Amacuro ; by cruising in the 
space comprised between this river and the Barima, in the 
revenue- cutter Transfer, including those territories in the Dis- 
trict of the Governor of Demerara ; by sending a Magistrate 



208 



to the same, to try and decide on criminal and police cases ; 
by authorizing the working of mines on Venezuelan territory^ 
and finally, by appropriating said territory because, as it says, 
the dispute on limits is pending. 

As Minister for the Republic, General Guzman Blanco 
claimed from the British Government, in a note dated on the 
28th of July last, the satisfaction which these facts demand ; 
and the answer has been to proclaim and notify by means of a 
notice published on the 21st of October, 1886, in the London 
Gazette, that the territory marked out by Engineer Schom- 
burgk is their property. 

That is to say that the Government of Great Britain has 
decided for itself and by itself to the exclusion of Venezuela, 
that she is proprietor of the mouth of the Orinoco, the most 
important river of the Repubhc, of which the Barima and the 
Morajuana are branches, including also Point Barima, and 
which her Charge d'Affaires, Sir Robert Porter, sponta- 
neously acknowledged on the 26th of May, 1836, to be under 
the sovereignty of Venezuela. 

Venezuela has frequently proposed that the question be sub- 
mitted to the decision of an arbitrator on rights, and Her Maj- 
esty's Government has refused, alleging that this method 
cannot be applied to a controversy on limits. It has persisted 
in this refusal^ although reminded that by the conventions of 
1827 and 1871. England herself referred to an arbitrator a 
dispute on limits between herself and the United States, one 
about her possessions in North America and the other in ref- 
erence to the canal of Haro, with the circumstance that, in the 
latter case, the proposal came from herself as many as six 
times. 

Venezuela is still wiUing to settle this controversy by means 
of arbitration, the only method compatible with her Constitu- 
tion now in force. 

By virtue of the preceding statements the President of the 
Republic demands from Her Majesty's Government the evac- 
uation of the Venezuelan territory from the mouths of the 
Orinoco to the Pomaron, which it has unduly occupied, with 



209 



the understanding, that if by the 20th of February next, date 
at which Congress meets, to whom the Government must 
render account of everything, no answer has been received, or 
a negative answer has come, the diplomatic relations between 
the two countries will be severed from that date. 

I beg to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my 
highest consideration. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 

To His Excellency F. R. Saint John, etc., etc. 



Mr. St. John to Dr. Urbaneja, 

British Legation. 
Caracas, January 31st, 1887. 

Senor Mi?iistro : 

Referring to my interview of the 6th of December last with 
His Excellency the President of the RepubHc and to Your 
Excellency's note of the day after, in which was signified to 
me the intention of the Government of Venezuela to proceed 
at once to occupy Barima Point by erecting there a lighthouse 
in compliance with the alleged desire of Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment, I am now instructed by Her Majesty's Principal Sec- 
retary of State for Foreign Affairs to state to Your Excellency 
for the information of the President, that the request by the 
British Consul for the erection of such a lighthouse in 1836, 
was unknown to, and unauthorized by, the British Government 
of the day ; that an attempt to erect such a lighthouse without 
the consent of Her Majesty's Government would be a depart- 
ure from the reciprocal engagement taken by the Govern- 
ments of Venezuela and England in 1850 not to occupy or en- 
croach upon the territory in dispute between the two countries ; 
and that Her Majesty's Government would be justified in 
resisting such a proceeding as an act of aggression on the part 
of Venezuela. 

Nevertheless, as it appears that a Light at Barima Point 
would render the navigation of the Orinoco river safer, and 



210 



thus be of undoubted benefit to commerce generally, Her Maj- 
esty's Government do not desire unduly to insist on their rights, 
and I am in consequence instructed to inform the President 
that they will give their consent to the erection of a Light at 
Barima Point, on condition that an arrangement shall be come 
to between the two Governments as to the quantity of land to 
be occupied for the purpose, and that the Venezuelan Gov- 
ernment shall give a formal engagement in writing that the 
placing of the Light will in no way be held as prejudicing the 
British claim to the territory in dispute, of which Barima Point 
forms a part, nor be construed hereafter as evidence of any 
right on the part of Venezuela to Barima Point, nor as an 
acquiescence by Great Britain in such an assumption. 

I am further instructed to state that on receiving such writ- 
ten assurances. Her Majesty's Government will be prepared to 
instruct the British local authorities not to offer any opposition 
to the erection of the proposed Light, but must warn the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela against the danger of their taking action 
in the matter without a previous understanding with Great 
Britain . 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurances of my highest consideration. 

F. R. St. John. 

His Excellency Dr. Diego B. Urbaneja, etc., etc., etc. 



Dr. Urbancja to Mr. St. Jolin. 
Department of Foreign Affairs — D. P. E. — No. 47. 

Caracas, January 31st, 1887. 

Sir : 

I have informed the President of the Republic of the con- 
tents of the note which Your Excellency handed to me this 
morning, in which you state that the request made by the Brit- 
ish Consul in 1836 for the erection of a lighthouse at Point 
Barima was neither known to nor authorized by the British 
Government of the period ; that aa attempt to erect such a 



211 



lighthouse without the consent of Her Majesty's Government 
would be an infringement of the mutual engagement made by 
the Governments of Venezuela and England in 1850 not to 
occupy or encroach upon the territory in dispute between the 
two countries ; that Her Majesty's Government would be justi- 
fied in resisting such a proceeding as an aggressive act on the 
part of Venezuela ; that, as the lighthouse at Barima would 
make the navigation of the river Orinoco safer and would 
prove of undoubted benefit to commerce generally, Her Maj- 
esty's Government do not wish to insist unduly on their rights, 
and therefore consent to the erection of a lighthouse at Barima 
on condition that the two Governments enter into an agree- 
ment as to the quantity of land to be occupied for this purpose, 
and that the Government of Venezuela give a written assur- 
ance that the erection of the lighthouse will not be considered 
in any way as prejudicial to the British claim to the territory 
in dispute of which Point Barima forms a part, nor will be in 
future considered as a proof of any right of Venezuela to the 
same, nor as an acquiescence on the part of Great Britain to 
such a presumption. 

Far from finding a way to a solution of the existing diffi- 
culties in the aforesaid note, the President of the Republic 
judges that the same only aggravates them more and more, as 
will be shown. 

He does not admit that now, after fifty years and eight 
months have elapsed since the step taken by Sir Robert Ker 
Porter, it be pretended that this step was neither known to 
nor authorized by the British Government of the period, nor 
that he be called a Consul, as though to weaken the value of 
his word. He was a Consul at first; but after the exchange 
of the Treaty of 1834 between the two countries he was ap- 
pointed Charge d' Affaires, and it was in this capacity that on 
the 24th of May, 1836, he urged the establishment of a light- 
house at Point Barima. 

Venezuela does not admit now, neither has she admitted be- 
fore, nor will she ever admit that Point Barima has ever been 
in question, in the same manner that the Island of Barima is 



212 



not, has never been, nor will ever be ; this Island, and also that 
of Pedernales, are islands which, together with many others, 
are situated both physically and poHtically on the great Delta 
of the Orinoco, the exclusive property of Venezuela, of which 
country all of them form an integral part. 

It is undoubtedly out of respect for this sacred and invulner- 
able right of the Republic that none of the successive pro- 
posals of Lord Aberdeen, Lord Granville and Lord Rosebery 
include the Island of Barima. 

The Government of Her Majesty invokes the Convention of 
1850 in order to deny to Venezuela the right of estabhshing a. 
lighthouse at Barima, thereby justifying more and more the 
complaints and remonstrances of the Republic, because it is in 
utter disregard of this same Convention that they have taken 
possession of the vast territory lying between the Pomaron, 
Barima and the right bank of the x\macuro, thus making any 
settlement impossible. 

I have already said, and I repeat to Your Excellency, that 
Venezuela has never considered as being controverted the ter- 
ritory which lies between the Pomaron and the Amacuro, but 
that which lies between the Pomaron and the Essequibo ; but 
even in case that the former space were comprised in the dis- 
pute, Great Britain could neither have occupied it nor retained 
it, as she should have been prevented from doing so by the ex- 
istence of the compact which she to-day invokes against the 
Republic and which she has infringed for her own benefit. 

The President will not submit to the conditions imposed 
upon him for the erection of the lighthouse at Point Barima,. 
as this would be tantamount to assenting to the advances of 
Great Britain, which recognize no foundation, and to making 
declarations which would be damaging to the indisputable right 
of the Republic. 

And now the most important : This is the first occasion on 
which Her Majesty's Government make known their preten- 
sion to the Orinoco and speak of their rights in this respect 
and pretend to call themselves owners of it, imposing condi- 
tions for the use of the lands on which the lighthouse would 



213 



be placed. Until now all had been reduced to acts on one 
side, unknown to the other ; but to-day the latter is notified of 
what is done, and its approv^al is sought of these acts and pre- 
tensions, which are in opposition to its rights. 

In consequence, the President of the Republic has instructed 
me to formally renew the demand contained in my note of the 
26th of this month, regarding the evacuation of the whole of 
the territory occupied and retained by Great Britain, without 
any right whatever and in violation of the rights of Venezuela, 
from the Amacuro to the Pomaron, by the 20th of February, 
-date at which Congress will meet. 

And I am to add that, in case this has not been done by that 
time, and, besides, said evacuation is not accompanied by the 
acceptance of arbitration as the means of deciding the pending 
litigation on boundaries, the diplomatic relations between the 
two Governments will be severed and a protest will be entered 
which will forever sc^cure the rights of Venezuela against pro- 
ceedings which she should never have expected from a Power 
with 'whom she has ever endeavored to maintain the most 
friendly relations and frank intercourse. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurances of my highest consideration. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 

To His Excellency F. R. St. John, etc., etc. 



Mr. St. Jolin to Dr. Urbaneja. 

British Legation. 
Caracas, February 15th, 1887. 

Senor Miiiistro : 

I have to acknowledge receipt of two notes on the Guiana 
Frontier question which Your Excellency did me the honour 
to address to me — one dated the 26th and the other the 31st 
ultimo — and I must express my astonishment that despite the 
positive assurance I gave, which was afterwards confirmed by 
Her Majesty's Government, namely, that Sir Robert Porter's 



214 



request in 1836 for the placing of a light at Barima Point had 
been made without the authority or even the knowledge of 
Her Majesty's Government, the Government of Venezuela 
should doubt the statement and persist in regarding the cir- 
cumstance as justifying their claim to the spot. As well might 
it on the other side be argued that the merchants of Ciudad 
Bolivar, or Angostura as it was then called, — presumably 
from their proximity, better acquainted than Sir Robert with 
the locality — having petitioned him rather than the Venezue- 
lan local authorities for the means of safer navigation, — that 
circumstance proved that the merchants looked upon Ba- 
rima Point as British and not Venezuelan territory. 

With equal surprise do I observe that notwithstanding Your 
Excellency's allusion in your first note to the several instances,, 
namely, in 1844, ^^5^ 1886 in which her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment have from a friendly feeling to Venezuela, offered ta 
cede the lower right bank of the Orinoco, Your Excellency 
should affirm in your second note that the Venezuelan Gov- 
ernment now for the first time learn (by my note of the 31st 
ultimo) that the territory claimed by Great Britain extends to- 
the Orinoco. 

I have only to add that Your Excellency's first note was 
transmitted a few days ago to Her Majesty's Government^ 
and that your second note will be forwarded by the next op- 
portunity. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurance of my highest consideration. 

F. R. St. John. 

His Excellency Dr. Diego B. Urbaneja, etc., etc,, etc 



Telegram. 

Caracas, February 11, 1887. 
General Giizman Bla7ico, Maciito : 

The EngHsh Minister has just addressed the following note 
to me : 

Having telegraphed to Her Majesty's Government the sub^ 



215 



stance of Your Excellency's note to me of the 26th ultimo, I 
have this moment received by telegraph instructions from Her 
Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to 
state to you in reply that the Government of Her Majesty, 
while still prepared to enter into friendly negotiation with the 
object of settling the Guiana Boundary question, are unable 
to accede to the present demand of the Government of Vene- 
zuela, much as they would regret the action indicated in the 
note from Your Excellency above mentioned. 

Mr. St. John says that in case there is any answer to be 
sent by telegraph, there is an opportunity to do so by a 
steamer sailing to-day for Trinidad, and there will be no other 
before another week. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 



Dr. Urbaneja to Mr. St. John. 

Department of Foreign Affairs. — D. P. E. — No. 57. 

Caracas, February 11,1887. 

Sir : 

Immediately upon the receipt of your note of this date I 
transmitted it by telegraph to the President of the Republic, 
who has answered me in the following manner by the same 
means : 

" Your telegram just received. Say in answer to the Eng- 
lish Minister that the Government of Venezuela renew and ratify 
in all their parts the contents of their notes dated the 26th and 
31st of the preceding month, as they cannot enter into a new 
'discussion until Great Britain has evacuated the whole of the 
territory as far as the river Pomaron, which in conformity 
with the Convention of 1850, Venezuela has a perfect right to 
demand." 

1 beg once more to renew to Your Excellency the assur- 
ances of my distinguished consideration. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 

His Excellency F. R. St. John, H. B. M., etc., etc. 



21G 



Mr. St. Johfi to Dr. Urbaucja. 

British Legation. 
Caracas, February 19, 1887. 

Scnor Ministro : 

In accordance with instructions which I received to-day 
from England, I have the honor to state to your Excellency 
that Her Majesty's Government having been apprised of the 
recent visit of two Venezuelan Commissioners to a portion of 
the territory claimed by Great Britain as belonging to the Col- 
ony of British Guiana, and of their proceeding there, any in- 
terference with British subjects in that locality will not be 
permitted . 

I avail m^^self of this opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurances of my highest consideration. 

F. R. St. John. 

His Excellency Dr. Diego B. Urbaneja, etc., etc., etc. 



Dr. Urbaneja to Mr. St. John. 
Department OF Foreign Affairs. — D. P. E. — No. 70. 

Caracas, February 20, 1887. 

Sir : 

The Republic of Venezuela succeeded to Spain in her rights 
over the Captaincy-General of the same name by virtue of the 
Treaty of recognition signed in Madrid on the 30th of March, 
1845. 

The Province of Guiana formed a part of the Captaincy- 
General. 

The boundaries of this Province were : on the east, the At- 
lantic Ocean, and on the south the river Amazon. 

It was onlv through cessions made by Spain that these 
boundaries could suffer any reduction. 

The Dutch had taken possession of some points in Guiana 
during their long war of emancipation, and when Spain recog- 
nized their independence, she consented to legalize their usur- 



217 



pations on the coast of America, by treaty signed in Munster 
on the 30th of January, 1648. 

In said treaty the establishments of which the Dutch were 
left in possession were not specified ; but in the extradition 
treaty made at Aranjiiez on the 23d of June, 1791, the Colo- 
nies of Porto Rico, Coro, and the Orinoco were mentioned as 
Spanish and as Dutch, lying opposite to these, those of Saint 
Eustace, Curacao, and Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice and 
Surinam. 

Of these four last Colonies, the Netherlands transferred 
three to Great Britain, to wit : those of Essequibo, Demerara, 
and Berbice, through the London Treaty of 13th of August, 
1814. 

The Enghsh have no further titles in Guiana than those 
thus transferred to them by riolland. 

It must be observed that when the Dutch, infringing the 
aforesaid Munster, Treaty, which prohibited them from 
navigating to and trading with the Spanish possessions, en- 
deavored to advance towards the latter. His Catholic Majesty 
invariably opposed an armed resistance to these attempts at 
usurpation. 

That the Dutch themselves did not believe themselves to be 
the legitimate owners, on the north side of the Colonies, of a 
larger portion of territory than the Essequibo, is proved by the 
fact that no other is included in the aforesaid act of alienation 
to Great Britain. 

Thus, in 1810, the Essequibo was the limit between the Prov- 
ince of Guiana and Holland ; and the same belongs to Vene- 
zuela as established by her Constitution. 

Since 1822 the Government of Columbia, the predecessor 
of Venezuela, claimed the Essequibo as the property of the 
Republic. 

In 1841 Engineer Schomburgk, Commissioner for the Eng- 
lish Government, made surveys in Venezuelan Guiana and 
planted posts and other marks of dominion even at Barima 
and Amacuro. 

Public opinion in Venezuela became greatly excited, the 



218 



Government protested, and Her British Majesty ordered the 
removal of the marks, explaining that they had not been 
placed as a sign of empire. Since then Venezuela has been 
asking for a treaty which should decide of the misunderstand- 
ing on boundaries. 

It was only in 1844 ^^'^^ Plenipotentiary of the Repub- 
lie, after a long preparation of the preHminaries, opened ne- 
gotiations for the treaty. Based upon conventional right, 
upon history, and upon the authority of geographical maps,, 
he proposed the Essequibo as a frontier. 

In his turn. Lord Aberdeen, Her British Majesty's Secre- 
tary for Foreign Affairs, proposed the Moroco, thereby leav- 
ing to Venezuela, as he stated, the free ownership of the 
Orinoco. 

The Republic did not accept a line which deprived her of 
the territory lying between the Essequibo and the Moroco, and 
to which the EngHsh could present no title whatsoever. 

In 1850 the rumor spread that Great Britain wanted to 
claim Venezuelan Guiana. Mr. Wilson, then Charge d' Af- 
faires of that Nation in Caracas, contradicted this rumor. He 
affirmed that it was precisely the reverse of truth; that his 
Government had no intention of occupying or encroaching 
upon the territory in dispute; that they would neither order 
such occupation or encroachment, nor would they sanction 
them on the part of their authorities; that they w^ould order 
the latter to refrain from such acts and would with pleasure 
renew these instructions in case of need. He requested and 
obtained a similar declaration from Venezuela. The terri- 
tory in dispute was not specified at the time; but Venezuela 
has never understood that it was that comprised between the 
Pomaron and the Amacuro, but that inclosed by the Pomaron 
and the Essequibo. 

Never losing sight of the question, Venezuela urged a set- 
tlement in 1876. At the end of five years, in September, 
i88r. Lord Granville presented a new demarcation which 
commenced at a place on the seacoast at a longitude of 
twenty-nine miles to the east of the right shore of River 



219 



Barima. He added that in this manner he satisfied the reason- 
able pretensions and claims of Venezuela and ceded to her the 
so-called Dardanelles of the Orinoco and the complete domin- 
ion of its mouth. 

The Republic did not accept this line either, which for un- 
known motives is still more damaging to her than that of Lord 
Aberdeen. 

In 1883 the British Government joined together the three 
questions of boundaries, additional duty of 30 per cent, on 
merchandise coming from the Antilles, and pecuniary claims, 
and urged an amicable and simultaneous settlement of the 
same. 

In consequence of this. General Guzman Blanco proceeded 
to London with full powers in his character of Envoy Extra- 
ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and earnestly devoted: 
himself to the settlement of those affairs. 

During the negotiation of the new treaty of commerce he 
had obtained the written promise of Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment to submit all disputes arising between the two coun- 
tries to arbitration. This involved the boundary question. 
But before the convention was signed, a change of Ministry 
took place. Lord Granville's successor, while fulfilling all the 
promises made by the preceding Administration to other 
States, refused to keep that which had been made to Vene- 
zuela. He alleged that Great Britain could not apply arbitra- 
tion to controversies on limits. He forgot that she herself had. 
applied it in 1827 and 1871 to disputes of this kind with the 
United States, the arbiter in the first instance being the King 
of Holland and the present Emperor of Germany in the sec- 
ond. The motive of the latter was the Canal of Haro, and it 
was the British Government who, as many as six times, asked 
for and finally obtained arbitration. 

In July, 1886, and as the result of the exertions of the Ven- 
ezuelan Legation, Lord Rosebery presented a frontier which 
commenced west of the Waini, and was considered unac- 
ceptable for several reasons, one of them being that it was- 



220 



accompanied bv a demand for the free navigation of and com- 
merce on the Orinoco. 

While negotiations were being carried on in Europe, several 
agents of the Governor of Demerara entered Venezuelan 
Guiana since October, 1884; they placed marks and posted 
notices, they reached once more the Amacuro and carried 
away the Commissary, Mr. Roberto Wells, in order to try and 
to punish him for ill-treatment of a Portuguese subject, which 
they did, notwithstanding that they had no jurisdiction over 
the place where the fact had occurred. They at the same 
time declared those places to be British territory and the laws 
of the neighboring British Colony to be in force there. The 
Venezuelan Legation justly protested against such an unde- 
served grievance and demanded the satisfaction that the case 
called for. 

The remonstrances of Venezuela have not been attended to; 
they have not deserved an answer. It seems, on the contrary, 
that they have been taken as a pretext for the aggravation of 
the offences. On receipt of the news of the last events, the 
President of the Republic called Your Excellency on the 6th 
of December, 1886, and requested you to give him any in- 
formation you might possess on these incredible events. • He 
furthermore advised Your Excellency that he was going to 
order the erection of a Hghthouse at Point Barima, which, since 
1836, had been most earnestl}' urged by Sir Robert Ker Por- 
ter, British Charge d' Affaires. Your Excellency refused to 
give the requested explanations, because the President did not 
consent to postpone the execution of his project until Your 
Excellency had consulted your Government on the subject. 
This means that Your Excellency wished that the President 
should not carry out an administrative measure on Venezuelan 
territory without previously obtaining permission of Her 
British Majesty, who has occupied and retains this territory 
without an}^ right whatsoever. In answer Your Excellency 
has informed me that your Government would consider the 
occupation of Point Barima as a violation of the aforesaid 
•Convention of 1850, not to occupy or encroach upon the terri- 



221 



tory in dispute, and further stated that, as the Hghthouse would' 
prove of general utility, they do not wish unduly to insist on 
their rights and would not oppose the erection thereof, pro- 
vided an arrangement be come to regarding the amount of 
land to be occupied for this purpose, and an agreement be 
made in writing not to consider this fact as prejudicial to the 
claim of Great Britain upon the territory in dispute of which 
Point Barima forms a part, and that it be not construed, at a 
later period, as a proof of the right of Venezuela at Point 
Barima and the acquiescence of Great Britain to such a 
pretension. 

The Republic has found it most extraordinary that the Con- 
vention of 1850 be revoked against her, when it has been vio- 
lated by Great Britain for her own benefit, and has rejected 
conditions which, if accepted, would have been destructive of 
her rights and has declared that such an answer aggravates 
still more the situation of affairs. It cannot be otherwise, 
since, by invoking the Convention, the British Cabinet ac- 
knowledges the duty there is of complying with it, and their 
conduct singularly contrasts with what should be the standard 
thereof. 

In order to work upon sure ground and to carry out the 
erection of the lighthouse, together with other views, the 
President sent on last December a commission composed of 
Doctor Jesus Munoz Tebar and General Santiago RodiL 
These gentlemen surveyed several points commencing at 
Amacuro, and, as the result of their personal observations 
they have brought tlie following information : On the right 
bank of the Amacuro they found two " Constables," to 
wit, Messrs. Francis Stephen Neame and G. B. Jeffrey, ap- 
pointed by [Mr. Michael McTurk, who calls himself a Sti- 
pendiary Magistrate of Her Majesty, in and for the Colony 
of British Guiana, the first named having been appointed on 
the ist of March, 1885, and the second on the 6th of Septem- 
ber, 1886. These Constables have authority to prevent any 
Venezuelan vessel from selling rum or spirituous Hquors with- 
out a license from the Governor of Demerara, and to seize 



any one which may do so. They proved the existence of a 
wooden house which serves, at Amacuro, as a public office, 
over which flies the English flag, and was erected at the ex- 
pense of the Government of Demerara. They ascertained 
that a British revenue cutter, called the Transfer, had called 
on various occasions at Amacuro, having on board a magis- 
trate, who, accompanied by armed policemen, came to try and 
decide upon criminal and police cases. They learned that at 
Amacuro and Barima, vessels are searched which have been 
legally dispatched at Ciudad Bolivar, and they are forbidden 
from selling their merchandise and going up Branch Barima 
except in ballast. They heard that there was another Con- 
stable called Harrington at the settlement of Aruca, and that 
three months before a magistrate had been there in order to 
arrest and try the murderer of a coolie, who was sentenced to 
five years' imprisonment. At Cuabana they found a protest- 
ant church which serves at the same time as a school-house, 
and in the Marriage-Register of which it is stated that that 
place belongs to the county of Essequibo. The Commis- 
sioners were informed that the Colonial Government keep a 
Constable at the village of Guaramuri on the banks of River 
Moroco. They likewise ascertained that gold mines were 
being worked by English authority on the Venezuelan terri- 
tory lying between the river Cuyuni, Mazaruni and Pu- 
runi, and that large quantities of this mineral had already been 
exported through the Custom-House at Demerara. The 
Commissioners proceeded to Georgetown, and through the 
Venezuelan Consul at that place made the Governor acquainted 
with the objects of their Commission, what they had accom- 
plished by virtue of same, and with the violations which they 
had discovered of Venezuelan territory. The Government 
Secretary answered on the 6th of January that he referred 
them to the notice published in the London Gazette on the 21st 
of October, 1886, and added that the places mentioned in the 
official note of the Commissioners were included in the limits 
established by the terms of the notice ajid are a portion of the 
^Colony of British Guiana. In the notice it is proclaimed and 



223 



notified that: Whereas the limits between British Guiana, one 
of Her Majesty's Colonies, and the Republic of Venezuela 
are in dispute- between Her Majesty's Government and the 
Government of Venezuela, and whereas information has 
reached Her Majesty's Government that the Government of 
Venezuela has made or proposes to make grants of land within 
the territory claimed by Her Majesty's Government, such titles 
will neither be admitted nor recognized, and any person taking 
possession of or exercising any rights on said lands, by virtue 
of said titles, will be prosecuted as trespassers according to 
the laws of the Colony. In conclusion it is stated in the no- 
tice that a map may be seen at the Library of the Colonial 
Office in Downing Street, or at the Office of the Government 
Secretary in Georgetown, Demerara, showing the limits be- 
tween British Guiana and Venezuela as claimed by Her Maj- 
esty's Government. 

To what precedes may be added, that the Government of 
Demerara in a decree issued in 1868 on the division of regis- 
ters, did not establish a more northerly limit than the Poma- 
ron; and that, annulling the same on the 6th of November, 
1886, by order of Her Majesty's Government and doubtless 
with that sole object in view, he created new divisions which 
reach as far as the eastern shore of the Amacuro. 

The limits now occupied, not claimed, by the English Gov- 
ernment are the same which Engineer Schomburgk fancifully 
marked out in 1841. 

On the 6th of January last the Government, strengthened 
by the most sofid reasons, reiterating their willingness to end 
the controversy by arbitration, demanded from Her Britannic 
Majesty's the evacuation of the Venezuelan territory from the 
mouths of the Orinoco to the Pomaron, which she had unduly 
occupied, with the understanding that if, by the 20th of the 
present month no answer had been returned or a negative 
answer had been given, the diplomatic relations between the 
two countries would be severed from that date. 

On the 3d of January, in answering about the conditions on 
which the English Government would consent to the erection 



224 



of the lighthouse at Point Barima, said demand was renewed^ 
together with that of the acceptance of arbitration. 

On the nth of this month Your Excellency notified me 
that having communicated my note of 26th of January by 
telegraph to Her Majesty's Government, you had been in- 
structed to say in reply that while being still willing to enter 
into amicable negotiations with the object of settling the ques- 
tion of limits of Guiana, they could not acceed to the present 
demands of the Government of Venezuela, much as they 
would regret the proceeding which m}' note indicated. 

1 therefore repeated and ratified, in all their parts, the con- 
tents of my notes of 26th and 31st of January, as the Execu- 
tive could not open a new discussion until Great Britain had 
evacuated the territory as far as the river Pomaron, which 
Venezuela has a perfect right to demand, in conformity with 
the Convention of 1850. 

The 20th of February has come and also the foreseen event 
of the denial of the claims of Venezuela. 

Thus Great Britain rejects the just and moderate request 
to repair the wrongs she has done and is still doing to the Re- 
public, in the midst of the friendship which the latter has con- 
stantly shown her and against the existence of a treaty which 
establishes this friendship. 

Great Britain has violated Venezuelan territory by entering 
the same through prohibited places; by appointing Constables^ 
establishing Government Offices over which flies the English 
flag; by carrying off, trying and punishing a Venezuelan 
Official, by sending thither, accompanied by an armed police 
force a Magistrate who' has proclaimed those places to be 
British; by decreeing prohibitions of commerce, by having a 
revenue cutter to cruise in the space which lies between 
Amacuro and Barima, comprising these rivers within the juris- 
diction of the Governor of Demerara*, and by authorizing the 
development of mines inclosed within the soil of the Republic 
and by exercising other acts of dominion . 

Great Britain has taken upon herself the right of deciding 



225 



for and by herself, and in her own favor, a question which 
regards her as much as it does Venezuela. 

Great Britain has declared herself to be the co-proprietor 
of the Orinoco, the great fluvial artery of the north of South 
America by taking possession of Branch Barima, one of its 
mouths, and, by this means, of the commerce of vast regions 
belonging to various countries. 

By doing this Great Britain has acted towards Venezuela 
in a manner which she has blamed in others. 

Great Britain has declared to be her property the places 
which she has just occupied on the sole ground that their 
boundaries are in dispute with Venezuela. 

Great Britain has infringed, for her own benefit, the Con- 
vention which she herself proposed to Venezuela in 1850, and 
has occupied the territory which had been thus guaranteed. 

Great Britain pretends to impose conditions upon the erec- 
tion of a lighthouse at Point Barima, over which place her 
own Charge d' Affaires, on the 26th of May, 1836, spon- 
taneously recognized the sovereignty of Venezuela. 

Great Britain will not apply to Venezuela the arbitration 
which she applied to the United States of America in 1827 
and 187 1, to decide upon a question of limits, she herself having 
repeatedly insisted upon it in the latter case. 

Great Britain has progressively increased her own advances 
from the Essequibo to the Pomaron, the Moroco, the Waini, the 
Barima and the Amacuro. 

Great Britain has therefore violated the rights of sovereignty 
and of independence of Venezuela, depriving her of the most 
sacred and inviolable of the properties of a nation, to wit, 
that of her territory. 

Venezuela must not preserve relations of friendship with a 
nation which has thus offended her, and in consequence sus- 
pends them from this day. 

And she protests before Her British Majesty's Government, 
before all civiHzed nations, before the world in general, against 
the acts of spoliation committed to her detriment by the Gov- 
ernment of Great Britain, which she, at no time and for no 



226 



consideration will recognize as capable of altering in the least 
the rights which she has inherited from Spain, and which she 
will be ever willing to submit to the decision of a third power, 
as the only means of solution, compatible with her consti- 
tutional precepts. 

After writing the above note I have received that which 
Your Excellency addressed to me dated on the 19th instant, 
and in which you inform me by order of Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment that the latter, having been apprised of the visit of 
two Venezuelan Commissioners to the portion of territory 
claimed by Great Britain as belonging to British Guiana, and 
of what they did there, any interference with British subjects 
in that locality will not be permitted. 

This demonstrates more and more that Great Britain already 
openly arrogates the jurisdiction over the territory of Vene- 
zuelan Guiana, which she has occupied because she claims it 
and pretends to act therein as the true and exclusive pro- 
prietor, without the least regard for the rights of the Republic, 
w^ho look upon it as her property. In consequence the 
Repubhc cannot but ratify, as she does ratify, her previous 
complaints and protests against a proceeding, as arbitrary as it 
is depressive, which she will always look upon as void and of 
no effect. 

I beg to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of my 
highest consideration. 

Diego B. Urbaneja. 



227 



PART X. 

Foreign Office, January i8, 1890. 

Mofisieur le Ministre : 

I am directed by the Marquis of Salisbury to acknowledge 
the receipt of your letter of the loth instant, informing him 
of the wish of the Venezuelan Government for the renewal of 
diplomatic relations with Her Britannic Majesty, and inclosing 
a copy of the full power granted to you by the President of 
Venezuela, empowering you to negotiate for that purpose with 
Her Majesty's Government. 

Lord Salisbury desires me to say that as soon as his health 
is sufificiently re-established, he will be happy to take- an early 
opportunity of arranging a time when he can have the honor 
of receiving you. 

I have the honor to be. Monsieur le Ministre, your most 
obedient humble servant, Th. Sanderson. 

Seflor Don Modesto Urbane j a. 



Foreign Office, February 10, 1890. 

Monsieur le Ministre : 

In compliance with your request I have the honor, by 
Lord Salisbury's direction, to transmit to you herewith a state- 
ment of the condition which Her Majesty's Government con- 
sider necessary for a satisfactory settlement of the question 
pending between Venezuela and Great Britain. 

I have the honor to be your most obedient humble servant, 

Th. Sanderson. 

Senor Doctor Modesto Urbaneja. 

Pro Mentoria. 

Her Majesty's Govrnment have received with satisfaction 
the communication from Senor Urbaneja that he has been em- 



228 



powered by the President of Venezuela to negotiate for a re- 
newal of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which 
were interrupted in 1887 by the Venezuelan Government then 
in office. Her Majesty's Government have on their side always 
had every desire to cultivate friendly relations with the Repub- 
lic of Venezuela. 

In accordance with Senor Urbaneja's request, the following" 
statement has been prepared of the conditions which Her 
Majesty's Government consider, for a satisfactory settlement 
of the questions pending between the two countries : 

I. As regards the frontier between Venezuela and the Col- 
ony of British Guiana, Her Majesty's Government could not 
accept as satisfactory any arrangement which did not ad- 
mit the British title to the territory comprised within the line 
laid down by "Sir R. Schomburgk in 184 1. They would be 
ready to refer to arbitration the claim of Great Britain to cer- 
tain territories to the west of that line. 

H. Her Majesty's Government consider that they are en- 
titled to expect that the differential duties now levied on im- 
ports from British Colonies in violation of Article IV. of the 
Commercial Treaty of 1825, shall be repealed. 

III. They would propose that all outstanding claims on the 
part of subjects of either country against the Government of 
the other should be referred to a Mixed Commission. 



Legation of Venezuela. 

Remarks in relation to the Pro Memoria that Sir. Th. San- 
derson, by order of Lord Salisbury, has addressed to me ia 
reference to the conditions that Her British Majesty's Govern- 
ment deem necessary for the satisfactory settlement of the 
pending questions between Venezuela and Great Britain. 

1st. Venezuela possesses titles, historical data, Spanish and 
English plans, and all kinds of precedents proving that Vene- 
zuelan Guiana extends as far as the Essequibo, the natural 
limit of British Guiana, and in regard to Point Barima, Her 
British Majesty's Government has acknowledged that said Point 



229 



and its island are both Venezuelan territory and property. 
The Government of Venezuela cannot, therefore, accept, even 
in one single point, the arbitrary and capricious line made by 
Schomburgkin 1 84 1, which Her Majesty's Government has de- 
clared as inefficient or null, neither is it possible for Venezuela 
to accept arbitration of any territory lying to the west of said 
line. 

Venezuela, notwithstanding her unquestionable rights, has 
proposed and still proposes arbitration, embracing all the ter- 
ritory from the Essequibo and the evacuation of those districts 
invaded from the Pumaron to the Orinoco. 

In regard to this, documents give evidence that the British 
Government had proposed through the Right Honorable Sir 
Andrew Clark, Lieutenant-General, and the Right Honorable 
Captain Lowther, to evacuate the invaded territory, and to 
submit the decision of this question to the arbitration of a 
friendly power, provided that the Government of Venezuela 
should declare the diplomatic relations between the two coun- 
tries restored. 

The Government of Venezuela acting upon this spirit, has been 
pleased to appoint a confidential agent to negotiate a prelimi- 
nary agreement restoring the diplomatic relations with Her 
British Majest3^'s Government. Therefore, the Venezuelan Gov- 
ernment has been grieved to see that the conditions demanded by 
Lord Salisbury, in the Pro Memoria, to which reference is made, 
are more unfavorable to Venezuela — whose President, Doctor 
RojasPaul, desires peace and seeks the relations of Great Britain, 
than the propositions made to the former confidential agent 
who, when he was President of Venezuela in 1887, severed the 
diplomatic relations with Great Britain, whom, it appears, has 
cause of complaint against the magistrate who acted as stated. 

The present Government of Venezuela — a constitutional, pru- 
dent, and pacific Government which has given no cause of com- 
plaint to Great Britain, but, on the contrary, is desirous of re- 
newing the diplomatic relations with Her British Majesty — 
was in hopes that the conditions imposed by Her British 
Majesty's Government with this object would be less severe for 



230 



Venezuela than those formerly demanded of the Government 
representative, who in 1887, interrupted the diplomatic relations 
with Her British Majesty's Government, and of whom Her 
British Majesty's Government may have cause of complaint. 

It therefore becomes necessary to repeat that the present 
Pro Memoria of Lord Salisbury is much more unfavorable to 
Venezuela than the propositions made to my predecessor by 
the Right Honorable Gentlemen, Clark and Lowther. 

2d. On the matter of the differential duty collected on the 
imports made from the English Colonies, as well as from the 
Colonies of other nations, the fact may be brought to mind 
that Venezuela has constantly and for years complained against 
the protection given by the authorities in Demerara to the in- 
troduction into Venezuela of smuggled merchandise. But in 
no case can this differential duty be construed as a violation of 
article 4 of the Treaty of Commerce of 1825. 

This difficultv could be completely settled in the new 
Treaty of Commerce to be agreed upon between Great Britain 
and Venezuela, because taking into consideration the progress 
made in the world by civilization and commerce and the in- 
crease of transactions of all kinds between the two countries, 
Great Britain and Venezuela, the treaty of 1825 could be con- 
sidered as having fallen into caducity. 

3d. The manner to settle the claims of each of the two na- 
tions, Great Britain and Venezuela, against each other, pre- 
sents no difficulty, as Great Britain, who may be considered as 
one of the nation's founders of the universal principles of mod- 
ern laws of nations, could have no difficulty in applying them 
to Venezuela in order to stipulate, as other nations have done 
already, that said claims be made in accordance with the prin- 
ciples of the law of nations, which principles are well known at 
present in the civilized world. 

With the highest respect, and reiterating the wishes that 
the diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Venezuela 
be re-established, these remarks are presented on Pro Mem- 
oria transmitted by Sir Thomas Sanderson by order of Lord 



231 



Salisbury, for the renewal of the diplomatic relations between 
the two mentioned nations. 

It is to be hoped that the Government of Her British Maj- 
esty, guided by her own sentiments of justice, should modify 
the conditions of the Pro Memoria, so that they be compatible 
with the sovereignty and the rights of Venezuela, with the re- 
spect due to enlightened public opinion, and with the duties 
imposed by the desire to maintain the interior peace of the Re- 
public and her pleasant relations with the Government of Her 
British Majesty. 

Paris, February 13, 1890. 



Foreign Office, February 19, 1890. 

Monsieur le Ministre : 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
of the 13th instant and its inclosure, containing your observa- 
tions on the memorandum forwarded with my letter of the 
1 0th instant repecting the questions at issue between Her 
Majesty's Government and that of Venezuela. 

I have lost no time in laying your communication before the 
Marquis of Salisbury. 

I have the honor to be with the highest consideration, Mon- 
sieur le Ministre, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Th. Sanderson. 

Sefior Modesto Urbaneja. 



Foreign Office, March 19, 189G. 

Monsieur le Mi?iistre : 

With reference to my note of the 19th ultimo, I have now 
the honor, by direction of the Marquis of Salisbury, to trans- 
mit to you the accompanying memorandum containing the 
views of Her Majesty's Government on the paper inclosed in 
your note of the 13th ultimo, relative to the conditions which 
are held by them to be necessary for a solution of the ques- 



232 



tions pending between Great Britain and Venezuela, and for the 
renewal of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 
I have the honor to be, Monsieur le Ministre, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Th. Sanderson. 

Sefior Urbaneja. 



Her Majesty's Government have given their careful atten- 
tion to Senor Urbaneja's Memorandum of the 13th of February. 
The following observations are forwarded in reply : 

I. As regards the boundary of British Guiana, Her Majesty's 
Government have carefully studied all the documents, histori- 
cal data, maps, and other information which have been com- 
municated or referred to by the Venezuelan Government in 
the course of the discussions. 

They have also recently made further investigations which 
have resulted in the acquisition of much information of which 
they believe that the Venezuelan Government is not aware. 

After examination of all this evidence they can say without 
hesitation that the claim of the Venezuelan Government to the 
Essequibo is one which Spain never asserted, and which Her 
Majesty's Government must regard as absolutely untenable ; 
the claim of Great Britain, on the other hand, to the whole 
basin of the Cuyuni and Yuruary is shown to be solidly 
founded, and the greater part of the district has been for three 
centuries under continuous settlement by the Dutch and by 
the British as their successors. 

In these circumstances Her Majesty's Government must 
decline, as they have repeatedly declined before, to entertain 
any proposal for bringing into an arbitration claims on the 
part of Venezuela, which in their full extent involve the title 
of the larger half of the British Colony. 

They cannot admit that there is any foundation for the 
assertion that any Government of Her Majesty ever recognized 
Point Barima as Venezuelan territory. Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment have constantly maintained that of strict right they 



233 



are entitled to the whole country within the line described in 
Lord's Salisbury's note to Senor Rojas of the loth of January, 
1880, that is, as far as the highlands of Upata, if not up to the 
Orinoco itself, and that all settlements by Venezuela to the 
-east of that line are in the nature of encroachments on the 
rights of Great Britain, whose desire has been throughout to 
pursue a conciliatory course and to effect a solution by means 
of friendly compromise and concession. 

Her Majesty's Government must repeat that they cannot 
admit any question as to their title to territory within the line 
surveyed by Sir R. Schomburgk in 1841, and laid down on 
Hebert's Map inclosed herewith ; on the other hand. Her 
Majesty's Government do not wish to insist on the extreme 
limit of their claim, as stated in the note to Senor Rojas referred 
to above. For the purpose of facilitating a settlement and as 
an indication of good will towards Venezuela, they would be 
ready to abandon a portion of that claim, and as regards that 
part of the territory between the Schomburgk line and their 
extreme claim, which is indicated by a green line, on the map 
marked A, and attached hereto, they are prepared to submit 
their claims to the arbitration of a third party. 

Her Majesty's Government have never in any way authorized 
either Sir Andrew Clark or Captain Lowther to present any 
proposals to the Government of Venezuela, and they must 
now, while regretting that Senor Urbaneja should have been 
misled, state their entire ability to adopt such proposals as he 
mentions. 

H. As regards the question of the differential duties. Her 
Majesty's Government have the highest legal opinion, in support 
of their view that these duties are an infraction of the Treaty 
of 1825. They consider themselves, therefore, justified in 
claiming the repeal of the duties, quite apart from the question 
of a fresh Commercial Treaty. 

Her Majesty's Government have, on their part, always en- 
deavoured to the best of their ability to prevent all illicit traffic 
between her Majesty's Colonies and Venezuela, but it would 
not be reasonable to hold Great Britain or her Colonies re- 



234 



sponsible for the conduct of Venezuelan Officials, or for the 
administration of law outside Her Majesty's Colonial waters. 

Her Majertv's Government do not doubt that if the other 
questions at issue between the two Governments were satisfac- 
torily adjusted, means could be found for arranging on an 
equitable basis the claims of the two nations against each other 
on behalf of their respective subjects. 

Her Majesty's Government cannot conclude this expression 
of their views without calling Senor Urbaneja's attention to 
the annexed notice which appeared in the "Opinion Na- 
cional," of Caracas, of the 24th of January last. A large party 
of the district, therein granted by contract to Monsieur le Mye 
is within the Schomburgk line above alluded to, and therefore, 
within British territory. The contract cannot be recognized 
by Her Majesty's Government, and any attempt to put the 
concession in force within that line would entail the risk of a 
collision with the British Authorities. 

Foreign Office, March 19, 1890. 



The Congress of the United States of Ve?iezuela Resolved : 
Article I. 

The act of Congress, dated May 12th, 1887, is hereby 
repealed. 

Article H. 

The President of the Republic remains in possession of all 
the constitutional faculties given to him by number 5, Article 
66th of the National Constitution. 

Article HI. 

In order that nothing be lacking to the enforcement of the 
several parts of the plan which the National Government must 
follow out with the object of attaining a decorous and satisfac- 
tory solution of the conflict now existing between Venezuela 
and Great Britain, Congress shall include in the Budget the 
amount that shall be deemed necessary for this purpose. 



235 



Article IV. 

If, before the promulgation of the aforesaid Budget for the 
coming economic year, the President of the Republic should 
be in need of making any or various disbursements in con- 
nection with this matter, he is hereby authorized to negotiate 
a loan for the necessary funds, and these will be repaid with 
the appropriations mentioned in the foregoing article. 

Article V. 

Let the National Executive be informed of the present act 
for its execution, giving him the faculty to promulgate this 
resolution when it may be deemed convenient. 

Given at the Palace of the Federal Legislative Corps, and 
sealed with the seal of Congress, in Caracas, on the eigh- 
teenth day of April of the year one thousand eight hundred 
and ninety. 

[l. s.] The President of the Chamber of the Senate, 

Vicente Amengual. 

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, 

Jose O. Aguilera. 

The Secretary of the Chamber of the Senate, 

Pedro Sederstrong. 
The Secretary of the Chamber of Deputies, 

ROMULO M. GUARDIA. 

Federal Palace in Caracas, on the twenty-ninth day of April 
of one thousand eight hundred and ninety. The 27th year of 
the Law and 32d of the Federation. 

[l s.] Be it enacted and its execution enforced, 

Raimundo Andueza Palacio^ 

[l. s.] Countersigned, 

Marco Antonio Saluzzo. 



236 



PART XL 

Extract from the histructiom to Doctor Liicio Pulido. 

United States of Venezuela, 
Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Caracas, May 14th, 1890. 

Sir: 

Venezuela having made an exhaustive exposition of Vene- 
zuela's rights to the territory of Guiana possessed by Spain, 
the jurisdiction over which the Republic began to exert after 
the political transformation of 18 11, and without detriment to 
the presentation of said rights again whenever deemed necessary, 
vou should now direct all your efforts to have the question of 
boundary submitted, in all its points, to the decision of an 
arbiter juris. This decision must include all and every one of 
England's pretensions to the territory comprised between the 
Essequibo and the three lines marked on the plan sent by order 
of Lord Salisburv to Seiior Urbaneja, a copy of which I here- 
with transmit to you. I should remark, however, that the line 
presented as that of " Schomburgk " is not the one he de- 
signates in his maps under the title of England's claim, but 
another line going further into the Venezuelan territorv. It is 
the one proclaimed in October of 1887, when the disputed ter- 
ritary was ascribed to Demerara. 

If, unfortunately, the English Government shall refuse this 
solution, vou will then notify them that Venezuela might be 
resigned, as France has been, to the dismemberment of her 
territory, if such dismemberment were the result of a war in 
which she should be vanquished, and this notwithstanding her 
rights of recovery would remain in force; but that, under no 
consideration will she submit peaceably to the usurpation of 
her territorv. 

You will convey this information, first orally and then by 
writing an official note. 



To Doctor Lucio Pulido, Minister of Venezuela. 



237 



Dr. Piilido to Sir Th. Sa?iderso?i. 

Hotel Victoria, Northumberland Avenue, 
London, June 20, 1890. 

Sir: 

I have come to London in the character of Plenipotentiary 
ad hoc of the Republic of the United States of Venezuela, to 
succeed Mr. Urbaneja, who remains as Minister Plenipoten- 
tiary of Venezuela in the French Republic. 

I am duly authorized by my Government to give on their 
behalf to Her Britannic Majesty's Government the answer to 
the memorandum addressed by you on the 19th of March last 
to Mr. Urbaneja, and to continue, should it be so convenient, 
the negotiations already initiated. 

I pray you in consequence kindly to appoint me a day and 
hour to have the honor to deliver personally to you, after pre- 
vious verification of my official character, the answer of my 
Government to the said memorandum. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

LUCIO PULIDO. 

Th. Sanderson, Esq., Under Secretary of State at Her Britannic Majesty's For-- 
eign Office. 

Sir Th. Saiiderson to Dr. Pidido. 

Foreign Office, June 21, 1890. 

Sir: 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
of the 20th instant, which I have submitted to Her Majesty's 
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 

It will give me much pleasure to receive you at the Foreign 
Office on Tuesday, 24th instant, at 3 o'clock. 
I have the honor to be, Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Th. Sanderson. 

Senor Lucio Pulido, Hotel Victoria. 



238 



Memorandum by Dr. Pidido, left with Sir Th. Sanderso?i, Her 
Britannic Majesty s Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 
June 24, j8go. 

The Government of the United States of Venezuela is very 
desirous to renew diplomatic relations with Her Britannic Maj- 
estv's Government and wishes to see the said relations re-estab- 
lished under cordial and durable basis. My Government has 
honored me with full instructions to this effect, and, animated 
bv the most conciliatory feelings, I shall be most happy if I 
arrive at a final arrangement with Her Majesty's Government. 

Mv Government has seen with great regret the communica- 
tion exchanofed in the months of Februarv and March last, 
between Mr. Urbaneja, my predecessor, and yourself as Under 
Secretarv at Her Majesty's Foreign Office. And with partic- 
ular regret has my Government received your last communi- 
cation, dated the 19th of March ultimo, addressed to Mr. Ur- 
baneja, as in the said communication the conditions under 
which Her Majestv's Government would consent to a settle- 
ment of the question pending with the United States of Ven- 
ezuela are peremptorillv defined. The emphatic statements 
therein contained in reference to the boundary question be- 
tween Her Majesty's Colony of British Guiana and the United 
States of Venezuela, which is in fact the only serious differ- 
ence existing between both Governments, create difficulties 
not hitherto contemplated by my Government, and which 
render impossible a just and honorable settlement. I am in- 
structed by my Government to formally decline the consider- 
• 1 ation of said proposals. 

I am, however, quite ready and most disposed to take part 
in an informal conference, as suggested by the Honorable Mr. 
Blaine, Secretary of State of the United States of America, 
composed of the United States Minister, a representative of 
Great Britain, and myself as the representative of the United 
States of Venezuela, to endeavor to reach, by a friendly dis- 
cussion of the pending difficulties, a final settlement which 
would permit the Governments of Venezuela and Her Bri- 
tannic Majesty to renew their friendly relations. 



23^ 

The pending difficulties relative to the additional duties im- 
posed in Venezuela upon Colonial imports ; to the modifica- 
tion of the existing Treaty of Commerce and to certain British 
claims of other nature against my Government, will be arranged 
as soon as diplomatic relations between both Governments are 
re-established; and I do not hesitate to state that the instruc- 
tions of my Government on these matters are of the most cor- 
dial and satisfactory character. 

The only pending difficulty between the two Governments 
over which public opinion in Venezuela is exceedingly excited, 
and in regard to which my Government must act with great 
prudence, is the one relating to the boundary between Her 
Majesty's Colony of British Guiana and the United States of 
Venezuela. It is materially impossible to settle this question 
within a short time, but preliminary steps can be at once taken 
as basis for a final settlement, which steps I have the honor to 
submit to the consideration of Her Majesty's Government in 
the present Memorandum. 

I would suggest for the renewal of diplomatic relations be- 
tween the Government of the United States of Venezuela and 
Her Majesty's Government, that a preliminary agreement be 
made between both Governments for the purpose of arriving 
at the final settlement of the boundary question under the fol- 
lowing basis : 

1st. The Government of the United States of Venezuela 
should formally declare that the Essequibo, its banks, and the 
lands covering it, belong to British Guiana, and Her Majesty's 
Government should formally declare that the Orinoco river, 
its banks, and the lands covering it, belong exclusively to the 
United States of Venezuela. 

2d. Considering that the region to the West and Northwest of 
the Essequibo River toward the Orinoco River is not officially 
well-known, and considering that the surveys made by the explor- 
er, Mr. Schomburgk, cannot be invoked as a title of property 
against the United States of Venezuela, in the same manner in 
which the surveys made by several Venezuelan explorers can- 
not be invoked as a title of property against Her Majesty's 
Colony of British Guiana, both Governments should at once 



240 



agree to appoint a Mixed Commission, composed of two Chief 
Engineers and their respective staffs, to proceed to make 
without any delay, and in the course of one year, the choro- 
graphical, geographical, and hydrographical maps and charters 
of the said region, in order to officially determine the exact 
course of the rivers and streams, the precise position and situ- 
ation of the mountains and hills, and all other valuable de- 
tails which would afford to both Governments a reliable official 
knowledge of the territory which is actually in dispute. 

3d. The said official maps and charters would enable both 
Governments to determine, with a mutual feeling of friendship 
and good-will, a boundary with perfect knowledge of the case, 
and a natural boundary between British Guiana and the United 
States of Venezuela should in all cases be preferred and de- 
termined. 

4th. But, if in view of such official maps and charters, both 
Governments do not agree upon a friendly boundary, it should 
from the present moment be agreed that, in such an event, the 
final decision and settlement of the boundary question should 
be submitted to two arbitrators appointed, one by each Gov- 
ernment, and a third one elected by the two arbiters for cases 
of discord, to decide the question, and in view of the original 
titles and documents which both Governments would then sub- 
mit to justify their claims to the lands or territories in dispute, 
the said arbitrators should be authorized to fix a boundary line, 
which, being in accordance with the respective rights and titles, 
should have the advantage of constituting as far as possible a 
natural boundary. 

5th. In order to arrive at this desirable result and to pre- 
vent any chance of international susceptibilities, both Govern- 
ments should agree to withdraw or remove all posts or any 
other indications or signs of presumptive possession and do- 
minion on the said region, until the final boundary has been 
fixed in the manner aforesaid, and therefore neither Govern- 
ment shall exercise any jurisdiction upon the disputed region,, 
pending the final arrangement. 

LUCIO PULIDO. 

London, June 24, 1890. 



241 



Sir Th. Smiderson to Dr. Pulido. 

Foreign Office, July 24th, 1890. 

Sir : 

I duly submitted to Lord Salisbury the memorandum 
which you were good enough to leave with me on the 
24th ultimo, containing the proposals for the resumption of 
diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Venezuela, and 
for the settlement of the frontier between the Republic and 
the Colony of British Guiana: 

I have now the honor, by direction of Lord Salisbury, to 
transmit to you a Memorandum containing the reply of Her 
Majesty's Government to those proposals. 

The reply would not, as you will perceive, exclude further 
discussion on the special points connected with the frontier 
which you mentioned at our interview. 

But Lord Salisbury has received with great surprise during 
the last few days the intelligence of the issue by the Govern- 
ment of Venezuela of two decrees, of which copies are inclosed 
herewith, purporting to establish Venezuelan administration in 
the districts betAyeen Point Barima and the River Pumeroon, 
and in the neighborhood of the point where the Cuyuni de- 
bouches into the Essequibo. Such notices can have no prac- 
tical effect, and any attempt to put them into execution could 
only be regarded as an invasion of the Colony and dealt with 
accordingly. 

But Lord Salisbury desires me to state that he cannot but 
regard the publication of the decrees, at the present moment, 
as entirely inconsistent with the professed desire of the Vene- 
zuelan Government to come to a settlement of pending differ- 
ences by means of friendly discussion. 

Unless the decrees are withdrawn with satisfactory explana- 
tions, it appears to him that it will be useless to continue the 
present negotiations, and that although he will regret their 
suspension, it will be necessary to defer them until the Vene- 



242 

zuelan Government are prepared to treat the question in a more 
conciliatory spirit. 

I have the honor to be with the highest consideration, Mon- 
sieur le Ministre, 

Your most obedient and humble servant, 

Th. Sanderson. 

Senor Don Lucio Pulido. 



Memorandum Referred to i?i the Foregoing Note of Sir Th. 
Sander S071. 

Senor Pulido's Memorandum of the 24th ultimo has received 
the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Government, who 
have been desirous of examining in the most friendly and 
impartial spirit any proposals which the Venezuelan Govern- 
ment may wish to offer for the resumption of diplomatic rela- 
tions and the settlement of pending differences. 

In Senor Pulido's opinion the only matter which presents 
real difficulties is the question of the frontier between Vene- 
zuela and British Guiana, upon which he states that the public 
opinion in Venezuela is greatly excited. He thinks that it is 
materially impossible to settle this question in a short time, but 
as a step towards its final solution he proposes a preliminary 
agreement to the following effect : 

Venezuela to recognize the title of British Guiana to the ex- 
clusive possession of the River Essequibo, with its banks and 
the lands covering it, while Her Majesty's Government would 
similarly recognize the title of Venezuela to the exclusive pos- 
session of the River Orinoco, its banks, and the lands covering 
it. A Mixed Commission of Engineers appointed by the two 
Governments to survey in the course of a year, the country to 
the west and northwest of the Essequibo River and the two 
Governments then to proceed, with the information thus ob- 
tained, to lay down a frontier between their respective territo- 
ries, giving the preference to a natural boundary. In case of 
their being unable to agree on a line, the decision of the boun- 
dary to be referred to two arbitrators to be appointed one by 



243 



each Government, and if they should disagree, to a third arbi- 
trator to be chosen by the other two. Pending these discus- 
sions, both Governments to withdraw all posts and signs of 
presumptive possession or dominion from the territory in 
dispute. 

Her Majesty's Government regret that this proposal is not 
such as they would feel justified in accepting. 

The proposed declaration, if it be correctly understood, 
would recognize the right of Great Britain to the main stream 
only of the Essequibo and the land immediately upon its 
banks, without including its tributaries, in exchange for a sim- 
ilar recognition of the right of Venezuela to the main stream 
of the Orinoco and the lands upon its banks and in the neigh- 
borhood of its mouth, including Point Barima and the adjacent 
district, while the whole intervening country would remain 
subject to discussion and in last resort to arbitration. Such a 
transaction is clearly inadmissible, For in this manner Vene- 
zuela would maintain her full claim, surrendering nothing to 
which she can hope to show any legitimate title, while Great 
Britain would not only admit the discussion of claims upon 
the part of Venezuela, for which she has constantly maintained 
that there is no serious foundation, but would at once and 
unconditionally abandon a considerable portion of territory 
of which she is in actual occupation. 

That territory, and by far the greater portion of the large 
tract of country which the Venezuelan Government seeks to 
put in question, accrued to the Netherlands under the Treaty 
of Munster of 1648 by right of previous occupation. It was 
constantly held and claimed by the States-General in succeed- 
ing years. It was publicly and effectively occupied by Great 
Britain during the wars at the close of the last century, and 
the formal transfer of the country so occupied was effected by 
the Treaty of Peace with the Netherlands of August 13th, 
1 81 4, and was in no way questioned by Spain in the conclusion 
of peace with her in the same year. 

Her Majesty's Government would have no object in joining 
in such a survey, as is proposed by Senor Pulido, of country 



244 



which is already sufificiently well known to them and which 
has been scientifically surveyed by British Engineers. For 
many years past British administration has been familiar with 
the greater part of the districts watered by the Cuyuni and 
Massaruni Rivers. There is, therefore, already at the disposal 
of the two Governments ample information for the purpose of 
settling a general line of frontier, although the decision of any 
minor points of detail might be properly left to a mixed com- 
mission of delimitation. 

Her Majesty's Government have indicated in previous state- 
ments the extent of the full territorial claim which they be- 
lieve themselves entitled to make. They have also defined 
the line within which they consider the British title to be un- 
questionable. In offering that certain portions of their claim 
beyond that line should be submitted to arbitration they ex- 
pressed their willingness to exclude from the proposed refer- 
ence those valuable districts in the neighborhood of Guacipati, 
which although falling within their claim, have for some time 
been in Venezuelan occupation, and in regard to which an arbitral 
decision adverse to Venezuela might have caused her consid- 
erable embarrassment and would have involved heavy pecuniary 
claims on the part of Great Britain on account of revenue re- 
ceived in past years. 

They regret to see that this offer on their part does not ap- 
pear to have been appreciated or to have met with any re- 
sponse on the part of Venezuela. Her Majesty's Government 
would not object to receive for examination and possible dis- 
cussion any suggestion for modification of their proposal in 
points where the Government of Venezuela consider that the 
interests of the Republic are seriously involved, but they are 
unable to depart from the general principle on which those 
proposals are based, or to accept an eventual reference to 
arbitration of a character so extensive as the method of 
procedure suggested by Senor Pulido would not improbably 
involve. 

Her Majesty's Government have more than once explained 
that they cannot consent to submit to arbitration what they 



245 



regard as their indisputable title to districts in the possession 
of the British Colony. 

Every fresh investigation tends only to enforce and en- 
large that title, and to make it more incumbent on them to 
maintain it as an act of justice to the rights and interests of 
the Colony. 



Personal Suggestioji. [Made i?i Writi?ig by Sir Th. Sa?i derso?i.) 

A line starting from Point Mocomoco, between Point Ba- 
rima and the River Waini, and striking S. W. to the Amacuro 
River. 

In exchange for compensation the frontier line would follow 
the course of the River Uruan from its junction with the River 
Cuyuni, and might be extended to the Sierra Usupamo and 
Sierra Rinocoto. 



Dr. Pulido to Sir Th. Sa?iderson. 

Plenipotency of the United States 

OF Venezuela. 
London, August 4, 1890. 

Sir : 

I have received your note of the 24th of last month, to which 
you have been pleased to join, in a memorandum, Her British 
Majesty's Government's reply to the one I had the honor to 
place in your hands on the 24th of June last, containing the 
counter propositions and the answer of the Government of 
Venezuela to the propositions presented by you to Senor 
Urbaneja, my predecessor, in the communication of March 
19th of current year for the re-establishment of diplomatic re- 
lations between the two Governments, and the solution of the 
pending questions. 

In this note you inform me, "That Lord Salisbury has re- 
ceived with great surprise during the last few days the intelli- 
gence of the issue by the Government of Venezuela of two 
decrees of which copies are enclosed herewith, purporting to 



246 



establish Venezuelan administrations in the district between 
Point Barima and the River Pumaron and in the neighborhood 
of the point where the Cuvuni debouches into the Essequibo." 

And farther on, "Unless the decrees are withdrawn, with 
satisfactory explanations, that it appears to him that it will be 
useless to continue the present negotiations, and that although 
he shall regret the suspension, it will be necessary to defer them 
until the Venezuelan Government are prepared to treat this 
question in a more conciliatory spirit." 

I have no information from my Government in reference to 
this new incident; but I think it opportune to suggest that 
this confirms the necessity of adjusting, in the form employed 
between civilized nations, the frontiers between Venezuela and 
the English Colony of Guiana, and at the same time this shows 
how much it is to be regretted that Her British Majesty's Gov- 
ernment should persist in refusing to submit them to the study 
and decision of arbitrators, as Venezuela has been proposing 
for the last ten years, and as other nations are doing who have 
possessions in this same Guiana. 

In effect, these frontiers which are more or less uncertain or 
undefined, from Her Majesty's Government's point of view, 
as they have been successively extending them solely on their 
own authority during the last fifty 3^ears, cannot but give rise 
to conflicts upon the rights of authority and territorial juris- 
diction. If Her British Majesty's Government has occupied 
in 1884 these territories, declared as contestable and neutral 
by both Governments in 1850, and takes measures proper to a 
permanent establishment therein, there is, in reality, no reason 
to be surprised that Venezuela does not abandon her rights and 
her jurisdiction upon them while the question is not settled in 
the customary form, or while said territories are not taken 
from her by force, which unhappih^ is still imposed upon them 
as an inexorable necessity. 

I will transmit to my Government the communication and ^ 
memorandum you have sent me, reserving my definite answer 
for such a time as I may receive the necessary information and 
instructions. 



247 



I have the honor, sir, to present to you the assurance of my 
Tiighest consideration. 

LUCIO PULIDO. 

This is a copy, 

The Chancellor, J. Pimentel. 

Sir Th. Sanderson, Under Secretary of Her British Majesty in the Department 
of Foreign Affairs. 



Dr. Pulido to the Venezuelan Mhiister of Foreign Affairs. 
(Number i8.) 

Plenipqtency of the United States of Venezuela. 

London, August 6th, 1890. 

Ciudadano Ministro: 

I write this communication as a necessary complement to the 
one addressed to you yesterday, numbered 17. 

Wishing to penetrate into the meaning of the intimations 
contained in the paragraphs from the communication and mem- 
orandum of Sir Th. Sanderson, dated on the 24th of last month, 
which I inserted in my said communication on the 30th of the 
same month, I asked him for an audience, which was imme- 
diately granted to me. I went to see him on the 31st, and we 
Tiad a long and interesting conference, in which I maintained 
the rights of Venezuela. I asked him the meaning of said 
paragraphs, and he answered me that Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government was disposed to listen and to take into considera- 
tion the propositions of Venezuela to trace a line reciprocally 
convenient, not far removed from the " Schomburgk line," and 
that in reference to the mouth of the Orinoco and Point Bar- 
ima, they would be abandoned to Venezuela, upon condition 
that, in compensation for this, there should be given to them a 
certain tract of land, to be agreed upon, between the Uruan river 
(Yuruan on the map) and the Cuyuni west of the ''Schom- 
burgk line," and he showed me on the map at the same time. 
Upon my solicitation to write down his idea, he did so with his 
own hand upon the paper which I enclose herewith, the 
translation of which is as follows : 



248 



"A line starting from Point Mocomoco between Point Bar- 
ima and River Guaima, and touching the Amacuro river at the 
southwest." 

In exchange or compensation, the boundary line will follow 
the course of the river Uruan (Yuruan) from its junction with 
the Cuyuni river, and might be extended to the Usupamo 
range or to the Rinocoto range of mountains." 

When I had the paper in my hands, he asked for it, and 
wrote on the top " Personal Suggestion," saying that a di- 
plomat should not expose his ideas in such a manner ; but I 
am convinced that the purpose of the "suggestion" is really 
official. He then added that Great Britain, in case of an ad- 
justment, would withdraw her claims upon the other territories 
not occupied by her and that lay outside of the original " Schom- 
burgk line," upon which she could maintain her rights with 
probable success before an arbitrator. I answered him that 
there was no occasion for compensation when a thing is given 
up upon which no rights exist, and that such is the case with 
England's occupation of the mouths of the Orinoco ; that the 
proper term to be employed is restitution, and I added that 
the territory demanded appeared very large. He replied that 
it had no value on account of its remote situation, while that 
at the mouth of the Orinoco was of great political and com- 
mercial importance ; that, in case of negotiation, all this would 
be taken into consideration to make them compensatory, and 
that he looked upon it from the point of view of accomplished 
facts. 

I informed him that my duty was to confine myself to lis- 
tening to him, always protesting against the injustice done to 
Venezuela, and against the abuse of might on the part of Her 
Britannic Majesty's Government, as I had no instructions to 
treat of the question on that ground, and that all the declara- 
tions that I had made, either orally or in writing, should be 
considered in force. But that I could not but take note of 
his propositions, and recognize the fact that the exclusive 
possession of the mouths of the Orinoco was a capital ques- 
tion for Venezuela, and for this reason Her Britannic Maj- 



249 



esty's Government's promise of its restitution would be duly 
appreciated by the Venezuelan Government, whom I should 
inform of his communications, and of the conference that we 
were holding at present, and that at the proper time an answer 
would be given, either by me or through any other medium, 
as the state of my health obliged me to return to Venezuela 
at the beginning of the autumn. 



LUCIO PULIDO. 
To the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United State? of Venezuela. 

Dr. Pulido to Sir Th. Sa?iderson. 

Plenipotency of thb United States 

OF Venezuela, In London. 
No. 19 Rue Daru, Paris, September 30th, 1890. 

Sir : 

As I had the honor to inform you, in our last interview, 
I shall depart for Venezuela on the 8th of next month, 
on leave of absence granted by my Government, to spend the 
winter in Caracas. 

By order of the Government of Venezuela my secretary, 
Senor J. Pimentel, will be left in charge ad interim to conduct 
the special mission before Her British Majesty's Government 
with which I was honored, and I hope you will bestow upon 
him the same kind attention and confidence with which you 
have distinguished me personally, 

I take this opportunity to say that my Government has in- 
formed me by recent communications, that your note of the 
24th of July last, and the annexed memorandum, were under 
consideration, and that in due time you would be informed of 
the decision. The Government of Venezuela desires to find 
acceptable bases for the adjustment of the frontiers with Brit- 
ish Guiana, and is moved by the conciliatory spirit indispensa- 
ble in all negotiations. If Her British Majesty's Government 
respond to these sentiments and desires, and will give to Ven- 
ezuela that share of justice to which she is entitled, I have no 
doubt but that they will come to an agreement. But, should 
the contrary be the case, I am instructed to convey to you that 



250 



Venezuela will never recognize the occupation of the territo- 
ries of Guiana, which, since 1850, have been declared disputa- 
ble and neutral, nor will she recognize the steps that may be 
taken, either by the Colonial authorities or Her British Maj- 
esty's Government to permanently occupy them, reserving for 
all time her rights to reclaim them. 

Please accept, Sir, the assurance of the highest consideration 
with which I remain, 

Your respectful servant, 

LUCIO PULIDO. 

By the Chancellor, 

Augustus F. Pulido, 

Attache. 

To Sir Th. Sanderson, Her British Majesty's Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 



Sir Th. Sanderson to Dr. Puildo. 

Foreign Office, October 7th, 1890. 

Sir :. 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
note of the 30th ultimo, informing me that you are about to 
leave for Caracas, and that, during your absence, your secre- 
tary, Senor Pimentel, will remain provisionally charged with 
the special mission to the Government of Her Britannic Maj- 
esty, with which you have been entrusted. 

You also state that your Government is considering the note 
which, by the direction of the Marquis of Salisbury, I had the 
honor of addressing you on the 24th of July last, in regard to 
the boundaries between Venezuela and British Guiana. 

I have already had the honor of receiving Senor Pimentel, 
and Lord Salisbury desires me to assure you that any com- 
munication which he may make by order of his Government 
will receive immediate attention. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Th. Sanderson. 

Sefior Don L. Pulido, 19 Rue Daru, Paris. 



251 



PART XII. 

[Translation.] 

Dr. MicJielena to Lord Rosebery. 

Previtali Hotel, Arundel Street. 

London, May 23d, 1893. 

My Lord : 

The Government of the United States of Venezuela, moved 
by a desire to adjust the differences pending with Her Britan- 
nic Majesty's Government and to re-establith the diplomatic 
relations which have been suspended between the two coun- 
tries, has been pleased to commission me as Confidential 
Agent, with full powers ad hoc, to consult with the Honorable 
Chancellery as to the means which may best tend to promptly 
accomplish that end. 

In consequence, I have the honor to send herewith to Your 
Excellency a copy of the full power which authorizes me to 
discuss said points, and I beg Your Excellency to kindly ap- 
point a day and hour when I may have the honor of being re- 
ceived, or to designate a person with whom I may commence 
the negotiations. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to assure your Excellency 
of the high consideration with which I have the honor to sub- 
scribe myself. 

Your Excellency's most obedient servant, 

TOMAS MiCHELENA. 
To his Excellency, the Earl of Rosebery, Secretary of State, etc., etc. 

Reply to the Above by Lord Rosebery. 

[Retranslation.] 

Lord Rosebery presents his respects to Senor T, Michelena, 
and in answer to his note of yesterday, has the honor of in- 
forming him that he will be pleased to receive him at 3 p. m. 
to-morrow, Thursday. 

Department of Foreign Affairs, May 24, 1893. 



252 



Dr. MicJiclcnn to Lord Rosebery. 

[Translation.] 

Confidential Agency of the Republic of Venezuela. 

Previtali Hotel, Arundel Street. 

London, May 26, 1893. 

My Lord: 

In conformity with the wish expressed by Your Excellency 
at our interview on yesterday, I haye the honor to inclose 
herewith, for Your Excellency's consideration, a Pro Memoria 
containing the basis upon which, in the opinion of the Govern- 
ment of Venezuela, an adjustment may be arrived at of the 
differences existing between the two countries, aud the re- 
establishment of their diplomatic relations. 

I trust that Your Excellency will see in the basis proposed 
in the Pro Metnoria evidences that the present Government of 
Venezuela wishes to offer to Her Majesty's Government, as 
far as its legal responsibilities permit, the most friendly means 
within the bounds of international practice, to end a situation 
which embarrasses the active and frank relations which should 
exist between the two countries. 

At the same time it has given me great pleasure to learn 
from Your Excellency that Her Britannic Majesty's Govern- 
ment entertains the same desire. This leads me to hope that, 
on the present occasion, the negotiations thus commenced to 
that end, may not be fruitless. 

I have the honor to remain, with highest consideration. 
Your Excellency's most obedient servant, 

TOMAS MiCHELENA. 

To His Excellency, Lord Rosebery, Her British Majesty's Secretary of State. 



Pro Memoria above Referred to. 

[Translation.] 

Bases for the conclusion of a preliminary agreement be- 
tween Her British Majesty's Government and the Government 
of the United States of Venezuela, with the object of re-estab- 



253 

lishing diplomatic relations and of amicably adjusting the 
various questions now pending between them: 

1st. The Government of Great Britain claiming certain ter- 
ritory in Guiana as successor to the rights of the Netherlands, 
and the Government of Venezuela claiming a portion of said 
territory as heir of Spain, prompted by an amicable spirit, 
and being desirous of putting an end to all differences respect- 
ing the titles, jurisdiction, and dominion of each to and over said 
territory in dispute, hereby agree and stipulate that after offi- 
cial relations shall have been re-established between the two 
countries in consequence of the ratification of this preliminary 
agreement by the respective Governments, each party shall 
appoint one or more delegates invested with full powers to 
conclude a treaty of limits, based upon the conscientious ex- 
amination which they may make of the documents, titles, and 
antecedents which may prove the respective claims, it being 
understood that the decision of doubtful points, or the demar- 
cation of a frontier line, upon which the delegates so ap- 
pointed may not agree, shall be submitted to the final and un- 
appealable decision of a judicial arbiter, to be appointed by 
common consent of both Governments. 

2d. The Government of Venezuela, with the object, of re- 
establishing relations with her Britannic Majesty's Government 
upon a footing of a greater cordiality, shall immediately pro- 
ceed to conclude a new treaty of commerce, abrogating the 
additional duty of 30 per cent., and substituting therefor an- 
other of a definite duration, as proposed by Lord Granville, 
in 1884. 

3d. All claims by subjects of Her Britannic Majesty's Gov- 
ernment against Venezuela, and those of the citizens of the 
Republic of Venezuela against Her Majesty's Government 
shall be examined by a Commission appointed ad hoc ; Vene- 
zuela agreeing thereto in this special case, adjudication of all 
foreign claims being, by a decree of the Republic, placed 
under the jurisdiction of the High Federal Court. It will 
therefore be of record that, in all future claims, Great Britain 
accepts said provision. 



254 



4th. The preliminary agreement shall stipulate that both 
Her British Majesty's Government and that of Venezuela 
recognize and declare to be the status quo of the boundary 
question that which existed in the year 1850, when the Hon- 
orable Sir Belford H. Wilson, Her British Majesty's Charge d' 
Affaires at Caracas, made the formal declaration on behalf and 
at the express command of Her British Majesty's Government, 
that no portion of the territory in dispute should be occupied, 
and requesting a similar declaration by the Government of 
Venezuela, which was made by the latter; said status quo to be 
maintained until the treaty of boundaries mentioned in basis 
1st shall be concluded. 

5th, The agreement made on the basis herein proposed, 
which shall be signed by the Confidential Agent of Venezuela, 
by virtue of the powers vested in him, and by the person duly 
authorized by Her British Majesty's Government, shall also be 
immediately submitted to the direct ratification of both Gov- 
ernments, and after the exchange of ratifications has been 
made, the diplomatic relations shall be ipso facto re-established 
between the two countries. 

London, May 26, 1893. 



Lord Rosebery to Dr. Michelena. 

[Retranslation.] 

Foreign Office, May 31, 1893. 

Sir: 

I have had the honor to receive your communication of 26th 
inst., inclosing a memorandum of the basis upon which the Vene- 
zuelan Government is w^illing to treat for the adjustment of 
the differences at present existing between both countries, and 
for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations. 

I hasten to inform you that these propositions will receive 
the prompt attention and consideration of Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment. I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your obedient humble servant, 

Rosebery. 

To Mr. Tomas Michelena, Previtali Hotel, Arundel Street. 



255 



Lord Rosebery to Dr. Michelena. 

[Copy.] 

Foreign Office, July 3d, 1893. 

Sir : 

Her Majesty's Government have carefully examined the 
proposals set forth in your Pro Memoria of the 26th May for 
the settlement of the various questions which are at issue be- 
tween the Government of Venezuela and that of Her Majesty. 

The most important of these questions, in the opin- 
ton of Her Majesty's Government is that of the boun- 
dary between Venezuela and the Colony of British Guiana, 
and it will, I think, tend to simplify the discussion, if in this 
note I confine myself to the point and refrain from offering for 
the present any observations on the proposals contained in 
clauses 2, 3 and 5 of the Pro Memoria. 

I must in the first place point out that although the present 
proposal of the Venezuelan Government admits the possibility 
of settling the question of boundary by treaty, the fact that 
it also involves reference to arbitration in case of difference be- 
tween the two Governments charged with the negotiations of 
that treaty, practically reduces it to the form which has re- 
peatedly been declined by Her Majesty's Government, namely, 
the reference to arbitration of a claim advanced by Venezuela 
to a great portion of a long-established British Colony. 

Her Majesty's Government therefore consider that clause of 
the Pro Memoria can only be accepted by them under the con- 
ditions specified in the Memorandum communicated in Sir. Th. 
Sanderson's note to Senor Urbaneja of the 19th of March, 1890. 
They would propose that the first clause of your Pro Memoria 
be amended in the manner indicated by the additions marked 
in red ink in the copy inclosed herewith. 

With regard to clause 4 of the Pro Memoria, in which it is 
proposed that both Her Majesty's Government anH that of 
Venezuela shall acknowledge and declare that the ''status quo'' 
of the Boundary question is that which existed in 1850, Her 
Majesty's Government consider that it is quite impossible that 



256 



thev should consent to revert to the ''status quo " of 1850 and 
vacate what has for some years constituted an integral portion 
of British Guiana. They regret therefore that they cannot 
entertain this proposition. 

The declaration made to the Venezuelan Government in 
the year 1850 by Sir Belford Wilson, the British Charge d' Af- 
faires, was as follows : That "whilst on the one hand Great 
Britain had no intention to occupy or encroach on the disputed 
territory, it would not, on the other hand, view with indiffer- 
ence aggressions in that territory by Venezuela." The ar- 
rangement on this basis was disturbed by Venezuela on several 
successive occasions prior to any attempt on the part of Her Maj- 
esty's Government to exercise jurisdiction in the districts in ques- 
tion. In the same year, 1 8 50, in which the declaration was made, 
the Venezuelan Government began to establish new positions 
to the east of Taniremo, and in 1858 they founded the town 
of Nueva Providencia on the south side of the River Yuruary. 
Again in 1876 licenses were granted by the Government of 
Venezuela to trade and cut wood in the district of Barima and 
to the eastward of that district. In 188 1 the Venezuelan Gov- 
ernment made a grant of great part of the disputed territory 
to General Pulgar, and in 1884 it made concessions to the 
Manoa Company and others, which were followed by actual 
attempts to settle the territory. 

In contrast to this action, the attitude of the British Gov- 
ernment was marked by great forbearance and a strong desire 
to execute the arrangement in good faith. In proof of this 
disposition, it may be instanced that when applied to in 1 881 
to grant a concession in the disputed territory to certain appli- 
cants, they distinctly declined to entertain the proposal on the 
ground that negotiations were proceeding with Venezuela, and 
it was not until the encroachments of the Manoa Company be- 
gan to interfere with the peace and good order of the Colony 
that Her Majesty's Government decided that an effective occu- 
pation of the territory could no longer be deferred, and steps 
were taken for publicly asserting what they believe to be 
the incontestable rights of Great Britain. Those rights they 



257 



are unable now to abandon, and they could not consent that 
any status quo except that now existing should remain in force 
during the progress of negotiations. 

I shall be glad to learn that you are able to accept these 
modifications of your proposals, as it would be a subject of sin- 
cere satisfaction to Her Majesty's Government to find that 
there is a prospect of a speedy re-establishment of diplomatic 
relations between the two countries. 

I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, 

ROSEBERY. 

Senor Michelena. 

Memorandum Accompaiiyijig the Foregoing. 
[Copy.] 

Foreign Office. 
Whereas, The Government of Great Britain claims certain 
territory in Guiana as successor in title of the Netherlands, 
and the Government of Venezuela claims the same territory 
as being the heir of Spain, both Governments being inspired 
by friendly intentions, and being desirous of putting an end 
to the differences which have arisen on this matter, and both 
Governments wishing to pay all deference to the titles alleged 
by either to prove its jurisdiction and proprietary rights over 
the territory in question, they agree and stipulate that as soon 
as official relations shall have been re-established between the 
two countries, and after the ratification of the present prelimi- 
nary convention by both Governments, one or more Delegates 
shall be named by each party with full power to conclude a 
frontier Treaty founded on a conscientious and complete ex- 
amination by the said Delegates of the documents, titles, and 
past events supporting the claims of either party, it being 
agreed that the said territory in dispute lies to the west of the line 
laid down in the map commu7iicated to the Government of Venezuela 
on the igth of March, i8go, a?id to the east of a line to be marked 
on the same map running from the source of the River Cumajio down 



258 



tluit stream and up the Aima a?id so along the Sierra Usapa?fio,'' 
and that the decision of doubtful points and the laving down 
of a frontier on the line of which the Delegates maybe unable* 
to agree shall be submitted to the final descision, from which 
there shall be no appeal, of a Judicial Arbitrator, to be ap- 
pointed, should the case arise, by common agreement between 
the two Governments. 
July 3, 1893. 



Dr. MicJielena to Lord Rosebery. 

[Translation.] 

Confidential Agency of Venezuela in Great Britain. 

London, July 31, 1893. 

My Lord : 

After duly considering the statements in your Excellency's 
communication of the 31st instant made in reply to the pro- 
posed basis of agreement submitted b}- me on the 26th of 
May last, the Confidential Agent of the Republic of Venezuela, 
sufficiently authorized thereto, begs to offer some remarks 
suggested bv the conclusive declarations in that communica- 
tion, and to reply to that part of it which bears the character 
of charges against the conduct of Venezuela, in the question 
of limits between the Colony of Demerara and the territory of 
the Republic. 

Your Excellency commences bv declaring '*that the most 
important of the questions pending between Great Britain and 
Venezuela is, in the opinion of Her Britannic Majesty's Gov- 
ernment, that of boundary between both countries." In 
order to simplify the discussion, your Excellency refers, in the 
aforesaid note, solely to said question, refraining for the pres- 
ent from making any remarks upon the propositions contained 
in clauses 2, 3, and 5 of the memorandum of 26th of May 
last. 

^ The words in italics are written in red ink in the original MS., and constitute 
the modification referred to bv Lord Roseber}% 



259 



This declaration would seem to imply that in case that the 
remarks referring to boundary could be admitted, the other 
clauses mentioned would be left unconsidered. Since, how- 
ever, those referring to limits so completely destroy the basis 
of the agreement, it really seems useless to consider the char- 
acter and tendency of said clauses. In this manner the dis- 
cussion is not made easy, but on the contrary tends to break it 
off entirely. 

It was with friendly intention and a sincere desire to arrive 
at an amicable settlement of all the points in controversy, that 
the undersigned, seeking the mutual convenience of both coun- 
tries, put aside the discussion of abstract rights over territo- 
ries. He sought to avoid the interminable form which has 
been hitherto adopted and followed up in the discussion of this 
matter. With this purpose in view, he was led to hope there 
might be a possibility of adjusting the question of boundary 
by means of a treaty involving reference to an arbitrator in 
case of differences and doubts arising in the minds of the 
Delegates appointed to mark out the frontier lines. 

Your Excellency meets this proposition in the following 
terms: "The reference to arbitration of the claim advanced 
^by Venezuela to a great portion of a long established British 
^Colony," etc. 

Your Excellency will permit me to express my surprise at 
'Such a statement. It is far from historical truth, and from the 
character of the controversy which has existed since 1 841 until 
now. What Venezuela desires is a just and natural demarca- 
tion of frontiers, about which nothing definite has been hitherto 
isettled by law ; and, to that end, she asks that the titles of both 
parties be submitted to an arbitrator. As to the alleged rights 
>of Great Britain, namely, that the disputed territory is an "in- 
tegral part" of one of her Colonies, that has never been ad- 
mitted by Venezuela. The mere fact that the Government of 
Great Britain may believe it has dominion over territories 
which, from times past, have been an integral part of the Re- 
public of Venezuela (for which reason the latter disputes them 
with her), is not a sufficient reason to refuse the intervention 



260 



of a Juridical Arbiter, who should judge and decide, in con- 
formity with the titles and antecedents, as to the rights of 
each nation over the territories situated north and west of the 
Moroco, Pomaron, and Essequibo rivers, and therefore, with- 
out arbitrary restrictions on account of the unjust claims of 
one of the parties. Venezuela might also, with equal reason,, 
demand that the decision of the Arbitrator be restricted in a 
contrary direction. But she does not do this. She makes no- 
restrictions whatever. She aks for nothing unjustly and re- 
tains no territory through arbitrary occupation. On the con- 
trary, she proposes to submit her titles to an expert Juriscon- 
sult for examination, and engages to abide by the decisiom 
that may be given. That decision would legally determine- 
what pertains to each country — to the one as the heir of Spain, 
and to the other as the successor of the Netherlands. 

The conditions made by Your Excellency in modification of 
the first clause specified in the Memorandum communicated 
by Sir Th. Sanderson's note to Senor Urbaneja on the 19th 
of March, 1890, cannot be admitted under any consideration,, 
since they imply the recognition by Venezuela of the claims, 
of Great Brtain over a large portion of territory which has for 
many years past been the subject of controversy, and is pre- 
cisely the foundation of the contention regarding the legiti- 
macy of the rights of each party. Nor can the determinate: 
modification now submitted by the Earl of Rosebery be ac- 
cepted for reasons already stated. His Lordship says: "I 
would propose that the first clause of your Memorandum be- 
altered in the manner indicated by the additions in red ink in 
the copy which I inclose, which additions are as follows r 
tJiat the disputed territory is situated west of the line marked in the- 
map sent to the Government of Vejiezuela on the igth of March, 
i8go, and east of a li?ie which shall be marked in said map, start- 
ing from the sources of the Qimano River followifig the ciirreiit of 
the same dowiiwards and up the Aima along the Usupamo chaiii. 
This proposed modification does nothing in fact but materially 
alter "the extreme claim" of Her Majesty's Government made 
by Sir Th. Sanderson on behalf of Lord Salisbury. It ex- 



261 



tends the capricious line drawn by the explorer Schomburgk 
all in absolute opposition to another demarcation proposed by 
the Earl of Rosebery himself in 1886, which reduced the " ex- 
treme claims " of Great Britain to much narrower limits. 

Then the Foreign Office, considering the fourth clause of 
my Memorandum, goes on to impugn the idea of the status 
quo of 1850, declaring that it is impossible for Her Majesty's 
Government to consent to revert to the status quo of 1 8 50, and 
evacuate what has for some years constituted an integral part 
of British Guiana." Your Lordship regrets to be unable to 
accept said proposition. The undersigned also regrets it. For, by 
retur?ii?ig to that modus vive?idi, Great Britain would have given a 
brilliant proof of her love of justice, of her respect for the 
fulfillment of an international agreement, and of her desire for 
conciliation in order to resume the political relations between 
both countries, and to bring all pending matters to a definite 
adjustment. Your Lordship alleges, in support of this lament- 
able decision, reasons that cannot be admitted. They are 
based upon what seems to me to be a legal sophism, and can- 
not be applied to a territory which was declared to be neutral 
in 1850. On considering, and in acknowledging the declara- 
tion made by Her Majesty's Government through Sir Belford 
Wilson, British Charge d' Affaires at Caracas, Your Excellency 
adds, " that the arrangement on that basis was disturbed by 
Venezuela on several successive occasions, prior to any attempt 
on the part of Her Majesty's Government to exercise jurisdic- 
tion in the districts in question; that in the same year 1850 in 
which the declaration was made, the Venezuelan Government 
began to establish new positions to the east of Taneremo, and 
in 1850 they founded the Town of Nueva Providencia on the 
south side of the River Yuruary; that again in 1876 licenses 
were granted by the Government of Venezuela to trade and 
cut wood in the District of Barima, and to the eastward of 
that District; that in 188 1 the Venezuelan Government made 
a grant of a great part of the disputed territory to General Pulgar; 
and that in 1884 it made concessions to the Manoa Company 
and others," etc. 



262 



These antecedents are alleged as an excuse by the British 
Government for its occupancy of a large extent of territory, 
which Venezuela maintains to be hers, and in justification of its 
conduct during the latter years. An it now declares that said 
territory belongs to the Colony of Demerara, for which reason 
it cannot evacuate it, nor submit the titles of its rights to the 
judgment and decision of a judicial arbiter. 

What then was the territory that was declared to be neutral 
and in dispute bv the convention of 1850? Was it perchance 
that which is inclosed within the capricious line drawn by the 
explorer, Schomburgk? Was it perchance that comprised 
within the arbitrary line drawn by the Marquis of Salisbur}'? 
Does it perchance comprehend quite all that is now called the 
British ''extreme claim "? Most of those lines appeared much 
later. It is most natural to suppose that the one which was 
proposed bv Lord Aberdeen in 1841 was the one contemplated 
by the agreement of nine years later. And this supposition is 
the more natural since, later on, in 1886, the Earl of Rosebery 
suggested another line, which differs from that of Lord Aber- 
deen only in that it advances somewhat further north. Neither 
the former nor the latter line comprise the Yuruarv and its 
southern banks, where the city of Nueva Providencia was 
founded, nor the District of Barima, in which licenses were 
granted to trade in and cut wood as Your Excellency states. 
As to the concessions or privileges granted to General Pulgar 
and to the Manoa and other companies, they were of non-ef- 
fect. Nor were they ever granted in other territories other 
than those belonging to the Republic. The rights of the 
Colony of Demerara were duly respected ; consequently, the 
neutrality agreed upon in 1 850 on a portion of lands over 
which Venezuela has refrained from exercising any jurisdic- 
tion. 

Your Excellency says in an apparently conclusive manner, 
that that is, those which Great Britain claims ta 
have over the territories she has occupied, both those corre- 
sponding to the modus vivejidi oi 1850 and the others north 
and west of said portion, cannot be abandoned, and that Her 



263 



Britannic Majesty's Government will not consent that any 
other status quo than the one now existing shall remain in 
force during the course of negotiations. 

I must believe that the theory that consummated facts have 
the strength of law cannot be applied to diplomatic negotia- 
tions designed to bring about a cordial and friendly set- 
tlement between two nations that have been bound to each 
other by the ties of friendship and community of commer- 
cial interests. That theory cannot prevail. It cannot be 
imposed when the object is to avoid serious dangers in the fu- 
ture; when the aim is to perfect and guarantee the important 
financial interests which Great Britain has in Venezuela, and 
when the mercantile affairs between both countries being nearly 
at a standstill, it is sought to be replaced on the same satisfac- 
tory footing on which they were some years ago, and thus to 
avoid serious conflicts which the prolongation of the present 
state of the political relations between both countries ma)^ 
bring about. Aside from the fact that the political institutions 
of Venezuela absolutely prohibit her Governments from con- 
senting to a tacit recognition by means of treaties the rights 
of other nations over territories considered as integral parts of 
her own, such action would not be in conformity with interna- 
tional law and precedent. Nor would it conform to the dig- 
nity of both nations, which is at stake. It would dishonor 
Venezuela by giving way to imposition, and it would dishonor 
Great Britain by unjustly imposing herself merely because she 
is the stronger power. 

In view of the above reasons, the undersigned takes the lib- 
erty of once more requesting Your Excellency to agree to a 
settlement upon bases so just and liberal as to admit of no re- 
fusal. Inspired by this desire, I again beg to urge the consid- 
eration of the bases for a preliminary agreement, that will pre- 
clude any discussion of the adverse claims of territorial rights, 
leaving that important matter entirely to the decision of a 
judicial arbitrator, in case the Commission of Delegates should 
not be able to agree upon all points in settling a frontier line. 

The undersigned therefore ventures to hope that the Secre- 



264 



tary of State will modify his idea in conformity with the decla- 
rations made before Parliament by Mr. Gladstone in behalf of 
Her Majesty's Government in regard to arbitration, and in such 
a manner as to definitely adjust the questions pending with 
Venezuela, to which end Your Excellency may assuredly count 
upon the goodwill and co-operation of the undersigned. 

I am with feelings of highest consideration, your Excel- 
lency's most obedient servant, Tomas Michelena, 

Previtali Hotel, Arundel St., Piccadilly Circus. 

To the Right Honorable the Earl of Roseberv, Secretary of State, etc. 



Dr. Rojas to Dr. Miclicleiia. 

[Translation.] 

Department of Foreign Affairs, No. 1039, 

Caracas, August 4, 1893. 

Sir : 

The newspapers of the British Colonies, notably of the 
Island of Trinidad, have during the last few days spoken of 
new acts of jurisdiction on the part of the authorities of Dem- 
erara over the territories in Guiana which Venezuela looks 
upon as comprised within her limits. This occurs at a moment 
when the Republic, acting upon its desire to adjust, in a man- 
ner conformable to the laws of international decorum, the dif- 
ficulties w^iich separate her from Great Britain, has sent to 
London an agent who is instructed to arrange with the For- 
eign Office the means of re-establishing political relations be- 
tween both countries. The Executive has therefore learned 
with great surprise of the statements made by some of the or- 
gans of the Colonial press, and deems it convenient that 3'ou 
should call the attention of Her British Majesty's Secretary of 
State to these facts. 

The Port of Spain Gazette of the 25th of July, after speak- 
ing of the excellent conditions of what the English now call 
the "Northwestern District," which extends as far as the 
mouth of the Orinoco, and the proprietorship of which Vene- 



265 



zuela has always claimed and maintained with legal arguments 
since the time of Lord Aberdeen, announces vast prospects 
of exploitation on said territory, to be carried out with capi- 
tals and by companies from the colony. It is therein said that 
a sloop was fitted out a short time ago under the direction of 
Dr. Chittenden, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture of Trin- 
idad, with the object of conveying twenty-nine expeditions to 
Upper Barima, and of hastening the work of the Dixon Com- 
pany. 

Acts of this nature, which are altogether in opposition to 
the success of the negotiations that have been commenced 
neither can nor must be ignored. It is therefore absolutely 
necessary that the government of Great Britain should know 
the feelings with which the Executive of Venezuela regards 
the tendency of the Colony of Demerara to impede by such 
acts the understanding which is solicited for the settlement of 
the pending question. 

I am your obedient servant, P. Ezeguiel Rojas. 

To Senor Tomas Michelena, Confidential Agent of Venezuela in Great Britain, 
London. 



Br. Michelena to Dr. Rojas. 

[Translation.] 

•Confidential Agency of Venezuela in Great Britain, 

Paris, August 30, 1893. 

Number 28. 

Sir: 

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your dispatch 
dated the 4th of the current month, No. 1039, referring to 
new acts of jurisdiction on the part of the Authorities of 
Demerara on territory of Venezuelan Guiana, which are alto- 
gether in opposition to the success of the negotiations which 
have been commenced with Her British Majesty's Govern- 
ment, for which reason the Government of Venezuela considers 
it absolutely necessary that that of Great Britain should be in- 



266 

formed of the feelings with which the Executive of the Re- 
public regards the tendency of the Colony of Demerara to im- 
pede by such acts the negotiation for the settlement of the 
pending question. 

I have addressed a communication to the Earl of Rosebery 
in which I have transcribed the dispatch above referred to, and 
should I receive a reply from said Official, I shall hasten to 
communicate it to your Department. 

I am your obedient servant, 

TOMAS MlCHELENA. 
To Dr. Pedro Ezequiel Rojas, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Caracas. 



Lord Rosebery to Dr. Micheleiia. 

[Copy.] 

Foreign Relations, September 12th, 1893. 

Sir : 

Her Majesty's Government have carefully examined the 
argum-ints contained in your note of the 31st of last July,, 
concerning the setdement of the boundary question between 
the Republic of Venezuela and the Colony of British Guiana. 

I regret to inform you that it does not appear to Her Maj-^ 
esty's Government that the contents of your note open the way 
to an}^ agreement that they can accept concerning this ques- 
tion. 

They are still desirous, how^ever, to come to an understand- 
ing in regard to the frontier , between the possessions of the 
two countries, and they are disposed to give their best atten- 
tion to any practicable proposals that might be offered then to- 
that effect. 

I have the honor to be. Sir, your most obedient humble 
servant, 

Rosebery. 

Sefiir Michelena, etc., etc., etc. 



267 



Same to Same. 

[Copy.] 

Foreign Office, September 2 2d, 1893. 

Sir : 

With reference to my note of the 2d instant, I have the 
honor to inform you that Her Majesty's Government have 
given their careful attention to the representations contained 
in your note of the 26th ultimo, complaining of acts on the 
part of the authorities of British Guiana which are considered 
by the Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs to be in con- 
travention of the rights of Venezuela. 

Her Majesty's Government are desirous of showing all 
proper respect for the recognized rights of Venezuela, but 
the acts of jurisdiction to which you refer in your note do not 
appear to them to constitute any infraction of or encroachment 
upon those rights. They are in fact no more than part of the 
necessary administration of a territory which Her Majesty's 
Government consider to be indisputably a portion oE the Col- 
ony of British Guiana and to which, as it has been their duty 
to state more than once, they can admit no claim on the part 
of Venezuela. 

I have the honor to be. Sir, your most obedient humble 
servant, 

ROSEBERY. 

Senor Michelena. 



Dr, Michelena to Lord Rosebery. 

[Translation. | 

Hotel de Bade, Boulevard des Italiens, 

Paris, September 29th, 1893. 

My Lord: 

I have had the honor to receive Your Excellency's note of 
the 1 2th inst., in which I am informed that Her Britannic 
Majesty's Government, after carefully considering the contents 
of my note of the 31st of July last proposing adjustment of 



268 



the boundary question between Venezuela and British Guiana, 
regrets that said note does not offer any basis of agreement 
that can be accepted. Your Excellency closes by stating, 
however, that Her Britannic Majesty's Government still desire 
to come to a friendly settlement of the question of boundary, 
and are disposed to take into consideration any practicable 
})roposition looking to that end. 

The terms in which Your Excellency has been pleased to re- 
ply to my note of July 31st ult., weaken, if indeed they do not 
wholly destroy, the confidence which the closing words might 
otherwise inspire. Your Excellency totally disregards the pro- 
posal made in my note of the 26th May last, and reiterated 
and simplified in my note of July 31st, to submit the whole 
question of boundary to a Commission of Delegates duly em- 
powered to trace a boundary line between the British Colony 
of Guiana and the Republic of Venezuela; and, as a last re- 
source, to submit to the decision of arbiters juris any differences 
that said Delegates might not be able to settle between them- 
selves. Not only this; Her Majesty's Government ignores the 
reasons presented in support of the most just refusal by the 
Venezuelan Government , to accept as indisputable the line pro- 
posed in Your Excellency's note of July 3d last, and which 
embraces a vast extent of territory beyond the limits of that 
hitherto in dispute, and which Venezuela maintains is hers by 
indisputable title. Nevertheless, Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government still professes a desire to come to a friendly set- 
tlement of the question of the boundaries, and says it is dis- 
posed to take into consideration " any practicable proposition" 
leading to this object. 

It was faith in this same promise, made by Your Excellency's 
predecessor to Doctor Lucio Pulido, former Agent of the Ven- 
ezuelan Government, and the well founded hope that the pres- 
ent British Cabinet, and that Your Excellency in particular, 
who had conducted the negotiations in 1886 in a more concil- 
iatory spirit than that shown by Lord Salisbury, would receive 
without restrictions, and in lieu of a most indecorous and unjusti- 
fiable submission on the part of the Government of Venezuela, 



269 



the propositions for an adjustment based upon a conscientious- 
study of the question by persons fully authorized by each 
Government with powers to fix the boundary line in ac- 
cordance with the titles produced by each party to the 
dispute; and that, in an extreme case, whatever said Com- 
mission could not solve by mutual agreement, should be sub- 
mitted to the final decision of a Tribunal of arbiters juris. It 
was, I repeat, with this hope that the Government of Vene- 
zuela hastened to renew the negotiations which were inter- 
rupted in 1890, and entrusted to me the commission of con- 
tinuing them, presenting as I have already done to Your Ex- 
cellency, the propositions with which Your Excellency is 
already acquainted. This hope was strengthened by Your 
Excellency's reply to the London Chamber of Commerce, and 
to an Association for Peace and Arbitration which asked for a 
settlement of the Venezuelan question. 

The proposal to which I referred in my note of the 26th 
May last to Your Excellency is the only one by which the 
historical truth and legitimate rights of both parties can be 
made clear; the only one which promises a solution without 
humiliation to either party; the only one that would respect 
the contentions and equities of both; and is the more worthy 
to be entertained in that it would quiet fears that the stronger 
power might impose upon the rights ot the weaker. It is the 
only procedure which can be held to be an easy and practicable 
solution of this long-standing and vexed question. The 
numerous plans for settlement hitherto proposed had given 
rise to radical disagreements, and the great diversity of frontier 
lines, more and more advantageous to Venezuela which had 
been proposed at various times by the Government of Her 
Britannic Majesty, had already given just cause for the remark 
by an eminent statesman, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the 
Republic of the United States, in 1888, in an official note to 
the Minister Plenipotentiary of the same Republic in London, 
that **if indeed it should appear that there is no fixed limit to 
the British boundary claim, their good disposition to aid in a 



270 



settlement might not onlv be defeated, but be obliged to 
give })lace to a feeling of great concern." 

This controversy, which has so unfortunately interrupted 
the long-established and cordial diplomatic relations between 
Great Britain and Venezuela, and upon which all the Govern- 
ments of America have already formed an opinion by reason 
of the widespread publication of all its incidents, has caused 
the Government of Venezuela to receive the offers of several 
of those Cabinets to bring their friendly influence to bear 
upon the Government of Her Britannic Majesty in order to ar- 
rive at a decorous settlement; circumstances which have pro- 
duced a profound conviction that, should Venezuela confide 
without any restriction, its final solution to the efficacy of the 
arbitration recognized by all civilized nations and recently 
proclaimed by the Prime Secretary, Mr. Gladstone, in a sol- 
emn and highly applauded speech before Parliament, there 
could exist no doubt of her desire to arrange the condition of 
affairs lately created by acts which otherwise can result in 
nothing but disorder, contention, and violence. 

Although the brevity of Your Excellency's note contrasts 
strongly with the length of the present one, I am compelled 
to be lengthy on account of the necessity of demonstrating, as 
far as possible, that the refusal of Her Britannic Majesty's Gov- 
ernment to consider acceptable and practicable the proposition 
to submit the question of limits to a Commission of Delegates 
and, as a last resource, to the judgment of arbiters juris, with- 
out restrictions, would entirely frustrate the desire, which 
Your Excellency assures me is cherished by Her Britannic Maj- 
esty's Government to arrive at an amicable settlement, and to 
consider any practicable proposition to that end. I must be 
allowed to say that the rejection of the offer made, and the 
last declared purpose to consider any practicable proposition 
for a settlement, seem to me to be wholly incompatible. Per- 
mit me to briefly review the divers phases which have been 
successively presented in this question of limits, in order that 
the pretensions that have been made known by Her Britannic 
Majesty's Government in these later years, with reference to 



271 



the limits of the Colony of British Guiana, may be clearly un- 
derstood They are so divergent from those manifested in 
the first few years of this question, that should the Govern- 
ment of Venezuela now submit unconditionalh^ to them, as 
Her British Majesty's Government wishes, far from being an 
amicable settlement between the two countries, they would 
simply convert the Venezuelan Nation into a country still sub- 
ject to conquest. 

The first frontier line proposed b}' Lord Aberdeen dates 
from 1 84 1, at which period Doctor Alejo Fortique came to 
London as Minister from Venezuela. The frontier line then 
proposed by Great Britain commenced on the borders of the 
river Moroco, and extended into the interior of the territory 
which Venezuela considers as hers. It left as British posses- 
sions all the river Cuyuni on its left bank. The premature death 
of Doctor Fortique interrupted these negotiations, which 
doubtless would have been concluded in a manner satisfactory 
to both Governments, since that of Her Britannic Majesty 
gave hopes of reducing the limits of the claims, and the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela, with the approval of the Council of Gov- 
ernment, proposed an intermediate line. 

As a result of these negotiations, the Government of Her 
Britannic Majesty in 1850, at the solicitation of the Govern- 
ment of Venezuela, and through the medium of Sir Belford 
Wilson, at that time British Charge d' Affaires in Caracas, made 
a solemn and official declaration that both countries should 
hold as entirely neutral the belt of land in dispute until the 
conclusion of a definite treaty of boundaries. Now this belt 
was none other than that comprised within the line proposed 
by the Earl of Aberdeen, which line commenced on the banks 
of the river Moroco, and extended into the interior, following 
the left bank of the Cuyuni, and that contended for by Vene- 
zuela, namely, the banks of the Essequibo river. 

That declaration, made at the instance of Venezuela, was 
caused by certain arbitrary acts of the engineer R. Schom- 
burgk, who, as an explorer, penetrated into the interior of 
Venezuela and there planted posts and put up marks following 



272 



an entirely new line according to his pleasure, which posts and 
marks Her Britannic Majesty'a Government ordered to be re- 
moved on the express solicitations of Doctor Fortique as Min- 
ister of Venezuela, the British Foreign Office declaring that 
such posts and marks did not mean rights but only aspiratioiis. 
This "Schomburgk line," so appropriately named by the Eng- 
lish Government, has nevertheless now come to be the "war 
horse" of the Foreign Office. It no longer includes lands 
"aspired" to, but territory claimed and occupied as a right'' \ 
and it is now gravely contended that this de facto occupancy 
and extended claim should be recognized by Venezuela as a 
legitimate title of possession, first, in virtue of the fact that it is 
within the line of dispute, and second, by reason of the ex parte 
Decree of October, 1886, by British authority. 

In a note dated September 15, 1881, Lord Granville pro- 
posed to Seilor Jose Maria 'Rojas, then Minister of Venezuela 
to Her Britannic Majesty's Government, a dividing line which 
should start from the coast at 29 miles longitude east of the 
left bank of the river Barima, and unite, in the interior, with 
that proposed bv the Earl of Aberdeen, both extending to the 
river Cuyuni on its left bank. Dr. Rojas had proposed that 
the border line should begin from the coast, one mile north 
of the mouth of the Moroco (the nearest point of departure 
to the line of Lord Aberdeen), and that from said point should 
be traced one meridian of latitude to the point of crossing with 
60° Greenwich longitude, and that from there the frontier ' 
should continue southward by said meridian to the confines of 
both territories. 

Five years later Your Excellency, being then, as now, in 
charge of the Prime Secretaryship of Foreign Affairs, proposed 
that it should be considered as disputed territory all situated 
between the line proposed by Seiior Rojas on the 2ist of Feb- 
ruary of 1 88 1, and that proposed by Lord Granville on the 
I 5th of September of the same year, both lines being speci- ~ 
fied as above, and that a dividing line should be traced witJdn the 
limits of this territory, either by arbitration or by a Mixed Com?nission, 
in order to divide it eqitally betweoi botli parties, taking into due con- 



273 

siderMion its 7iatural limits. Your Excellency added that your 
Government gave special importance to the possessio?i of the river 
Guaima and cherished tlie desire to stipulate that the line should 
start from the seacoast to the west of said river, offering to 
make " due compensation " in some o\hQv ^^^rt oi the disputed 
territory on account of this depanure from the principle of equality 
in the division. Your Excellency also offered to consider in 
connection with the limits the surrender to Venezuela of the 
Island of Patos, asking, at the same time, for complete free- 
dom of commerce and navigation on the Orinoco. 

I feel it my duty, on this occasion, to dwell particularly 
upon the significance of these bases of settlement proposed by 
Your Excellency in 1886, since they vary so widely from the 
position which Her Britannic Majesty's Government now as- 
sumes, when so important a subject as the re-establishment of 
friendly relations between the two countries is up for discussion. 

By these proposals of settlement Your Excellency limited 
the extreme pretension of Lord Granville, offering to divide 
the disputed territory in half, with all due regard to its natural 
limits. Moreover, Your Excellency suggested the appointment 
of a Mixed Commission (or of an Arbitration) to determine 
the frontier line ; thus recognizing the undeniable efficacy of that 
method of adjustment of all questions of boundary. Your 
Excellency presented as an aspiration of Her Britannic Majesty^s 
Government, as a most important desire, that it should be stipu- 
lated that the line start from the seacoast towards the west of 
the river Guaima, promising to make due compensation in the 
disputed district for this deviation from the principle of 
equality. Your Excellency will perceive how very widely 
these proposed bases of settlement vary from the unconditional 
and extreme proposition now made in Your Excellency's note 
of the 3d of July last. In the note last named it is pretended 
that Venezuela should accept "as indisputable" the capricious 
''Schomburgk line,^' excluding from arbitration all the terri- 
tory within that line, and which Great Britain claimed not as a 
right, but only as a matter of convenience in the discussion of 
boundary. That territory is now claimed as a right, and 



274 



British jurisdiction extended to and over the rivers Cuyuni and 
Barima, Point Barima, and over the territories adjacent to said 
streams, from their source to their debouchure into the great 
mouth of the Orinoco. This means that Venezuela should 
give up an area of her territory far larger than that marked out 
by Lord Aberdeen in 1841, and larger than that proposed by 
Lord Granville in 1881 ; twice as large as that proposed by 
Your Excellency yourself in 1886, and still more important 
than the one desired by Sir Th. Sanderson in conference 
with Dr. Lucio Pulido on July 31, 1890, when he promised 
that England would abandon her pretensions to the mouth of 
the Orinoco, and agree to fix a limit on that side ''by means 
of a line, which, starting from Point Mocomoco, between 
Point Barima and the river Guaima, should reach the river 
Amacuro on the southwest." 

Your Excellency repeats in the note of July 3d last, in 
answer to the proposals of settlement presented by me with 
memorandum of May 26th, the demand that Venezuela recog- 
nize, as indisputable, the line proposed by Sir Th. San- 
derson, in his note of March 19, 1890, addressed to Doctor 
Modesto Urbaneja, which was enclosed with a map, in which 
the course of said line was seen, and which far overreaches the 
original Schomburgk line,'' not to mention its excess of the 
two lines proposed by Lords Aberdeen and Granville. Your 
Excellency consents only to the arbitration of that portion of 
territory which lies on the left bank of the river Cuyuni up to 
the point where that stream intersects the " Schomburgk line," 
near the debouchure of the Acarabisi. That is to say, arbitra- 
tion is consented for in regard to territory which at no former 
time has been a matter of dispute, and which the Republic of 
Venezuela has quietly and peacefully held in possession since 
the time of its Independence ; a possession founded upon in- 
disputable and hitherto undisputed historical and juridical 
titles. 

Your Excellency can hardly fail to perceive the insurmount- 
able difficulties presented by these various frontier lines claimed 
or proposed by Her Britannic Majesty's Government in 1841, 
1 88 1, 1886, 1890, and at the present time; and likewise 



275 



the unvarying tendency shown to extend the Hmits of the 
Colony of British Guiana at the expense of the Venezuelan ter- 
ritory, and the manifest discordance which the propositions of 
Your Excellency in 1886 show, with the present request that 
Venezuela accept, without any compensation whatsoever, the 
-enlarged " Schomburgk line," which dispossesses her, not only 
of the river Guaima (an important desire of the Foreign Office in 
1886), but also deprives the Republic of the river Barima and 
the cape of that name, together with its adjacent territories. 

The question naturally suggests itself : What is the nature 
of the titles and of the documents upon which the present 
enlarged and extended British claim is supposed to rest ; a 
claim so diverse and elastic, and so foreign to antecedents, to 
unity and precision? If any titles at all exist, and they be as 
conclusive as the British Foreign Office now assumes them to 
be, why not submit them to examination by an impartial tri- 
bunal? Could any solution of the controversy be more prac- 
tical?" Could any be found more in accordance with justice 
and the practice of civilized nations ? This is all that Vene- 
zuela asks. She is willing to confide her case to the judgment 
of a Mixed Commission, or to a tribunal of arbitration, to abide 
their decision, and thus end a vexatious controversy of fifty 
years' standing. 

The only document quoted by Sir Th. Sanderson, in his 
reply to the Memorandum sent by Doctor Lucio Pulido in 
1890 to the Foreign Office, was the treaty of Mlinster of 1648, 
according to which Sir Th. Sanderson maintains that the terri- 
tory in dispute belonged to Holland by right of previous occu- 
pation ; that its occupation by Great Britain during the wars at 
the close of the Eighteenth Century was publicly and effectively 
made, and that the formal transfer of the country thus occupied 
took place by the Treaty of Peace with the Netherlands on the 
13th of August, 18 14, and was not disputed by Spain on sign- 
ing the Treaty of Peace with her in the same year. Sir Th. 
Sanderson omitted to say that the Treaty of Miinster did not 
specify the territory recognized by Spain as belonging to the 
Dutch ; that the Spaniards remained in possession of all the 
land which extends from the Orinoco to the Essequibo, in the 



276 



vicinity of which they had established missions, as well as posts 
on the Cuyuni ; that Spain's efforts were unceasing to drive the 
Dutch away from the Orinoco, which latter people were for- 
bidden by the Treaty of Miinster to even communicate with 
the Spanish settlements, and that the English, when they took 
the Dutch Colonies by force were also subject to the same pro- 
hibition ; that all the hostile acts committed by the Dutch, or 
by the Dutch and English together, or by these latter alone, in 
open opposition to said Treaty and not ultimately made lawful 
by the consent of Spain, constitute no title whatever to do- 
minion ; that the treaty of the 13th of August, 1814, by which 
the Netherlands ceded to England the settlements of Esse- 
quibo, Berbice, and Demerara," merely designated them by^ 
their names without expressing the limits of. any one of them. 

In the history of the Colonies of Essequibo, Demerara and 
Berbice, published in 1888 by the Dutch Captain, P. N.. 
Nestcher, compiled from documents in the official archives 
of his own country, it can be seen that, in his opinion, the di- 
viding line traced in one of his maps, commences from the 
Moroco and follows a southwesterly course to the crossing of the 
Cuyuni, and thence descending directly south as far as the 
Sierras of Roraima and Pacaraima. Moreover, the only docu- 
ment which gives direct information of the limits between the 
Spanish Colonies and those of Dutch Guiana, namely the- 
Treaty for the Extradition of fugitive slaves and deserters in 
1 79 1, locates the Spanish Colonies at the Orinoco and the 
Dutch at the Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice and Surinam. 
Consequently Spain did not believe that the Dutch had any 
possession whatsoever at the north or at the northwest of the 
Essequibo. The Treaty with Great Britain in 18 14 (not of 
peace, as Sir Th. Sanderson says, but of Alliance, since peace 
existed between them since 1802 and their forces acted jointly 
in the Spanish Peninsula to repel the French invasion) would 
have had no motive for complaint on account of the greater 
extension given to Holland's settlements with consequent det- 
riment to those of Spain. Lastly, Sir Th. Sanderson omitted 
to state that the English Government, in the list they pub- 
lished in 1877 of their British Colonies, carried the frontier of 



277 



'Guiana almost to the south of the mouth of the Amacuro as 
far as the junction of the rivers Cotinga and Takutu, and that 
in the Ust pubHshed in 1887 it makes the hne follow an exten- 
sive turn towardthe south following the Yuruary. 

From what has been stated it will be perceived that, through- 
out the whole period of this controversy, Great Britain has 
never once produced any historical or other lawful title to 
show with any degree of certainty the true and legitimate origin 
of any one of the many lines which she pretends that Vene- 
zuela ought to accept as ^'indisputable." Lacking these 
lawful titles, and violating all that was stipulated and promised 
by Sir Bedford Wilson in 1850, to wit, that both countries 
should hold as neutral the then disputed territory until the con- 
clusion of a Definite Treaty of boundary. Great Britain has 
proceeded to occupy de facto the area comprised within the 
**Schomburgk line " which was once formally disclaimed by 
the British Government. 

In contrast with these pretensions, and with proceedings so 
little conducive to the maintenance of harmony between the 
two countries, Venezuela, in order to arrive at a just and hon- 
orable final settlement of the question in dispute, proposes to 
submit to the verdict of a Commission of persons duly author- 
ized by both parties, who shall analyze all antecedents, ex- 
amine all titles, scrutinize all historical documents and vouchers, 
and sift all evidence upon which each country predicates its 
claim, and thence fix a corresponding boundary line — the 
Commissioners submitting to the decision of arbiters juris all 
questions on which they may not be able to agree. 

It cannot but be recognized, therefore, that the conduct of 
Venezuela's Government offers the most palpable proof of its 
love of justice and of its earnest desire to do its part, as far as 
may be compatible with its legal obligations, to preserve and 
defend its territory, to bring about a settlement, and the restor- 
ation of diplomatic relations. 

Greater proofs of intelligent comprehension of the question, 
greater independence and impartiality could not be desired 
than those of that High Tribunal of arbitration, whose decision 
^hall be unappealable. How is it possible that Her Britannic 



278 



Majesty's Government can consider as impracticable or unac- 
ceptable an arbitral decision to settle the question of limits 
with Venezuela when other nations have had recourse to 
it in similar cases, and quite recently Great Britain herself in 
the case of the Behring Sea controversy with the Republic of 
the United States ? 

It is with the sincerest regret that I shall inform mv Gov- 
ernment of the contents of Your Excellency's note of the I2th 
inst., in which the propositions formulated by me have been 
ignored; propositions made in fulfillment of my instructions, 
and inspired^by an earnest desire to bring to a decorous and 
lawful termination this so long-standing question of boundaries, 
and by such means arrive at the re-establishment of the dip- 
lomatic relations between both countries. 

It only remains, however, for me to most solemnly declare 
in the name of my Government, that it is with deep regret that 
it finds itself compelled to leave the present situation (the 
outcome of the events that have taken place on the disputed 
territory during the last few years) subject to the grave dis- 
turbances which the de facto proceedings can hardly fail to 
give; and also to state that at no time will Venezuela consent 
that such proceedings be recognized as titles in support of an 
occupancy which is contrary to her rights to territorial juris- 
diction. 

I take advantage of this opportunity to renew to Your Ex- 
cellency the sentiments of my highest consideration, and I 
have the pleasure to subscribe myself 

Your Excellency's obedient servant, 

TOMAS MiCHELENA. 
To the Earl of Rosebery, Prime Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Her Britannic 
Majesty's Government, London. 

Dr. Micheleiia to Lord Rosebery. 

[Translation.] 

Confidential Agency of Venezuela in Great Britain. 

Paris, October 6th, 1893. 

My Lord: 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Ex- 



279 



cellency's communication of the 22d of September ulto., in- 
forming me that Her Britannic Majesty's Government, having 
taken into consideration the representations contained in my 
note of August last, voicing the complaint of the Venezuelan 
Government on account of certain acts performed by the 
authorities of British Guiana in violation of the territorial 
rights of the Republic, does not consider that the acts referred 
to in my note constitute a violation of the above mentioned 
rights, as in reality such acts, Your Lordship adds, are nothing 
but part of the necessary administration of a territory that the 
Government of Her Britannic Majesty considers unquestion- 
ably as a portion of the Colony of British Guiana, and upon 
which territory (as it has been the dut)^ of Her Britannic 
Majesty's Government to declare more than once) no claim 
whatever could be admitted on the part of Venezuela. 

I shall report Your Excellency's communication to my Gov- 
ernment, which will doubtless cause a deep feeling of regret, 
since Her Majesty's Government ignores the legitimate rights 
Venezuela has to oppose certain acts of the authorities of the 
Colony of British Guiana, performed upon a territory Vene- 
zuela considers exclusively her own, which she has possessed 
perfectly and undisturbed until within a few years past, when 
the British Colony invaded them performing acts of jurisdic- 
tion which have given rise to repeated and energetic protests 
on the part of the Government of the Republic. 

Her Britannic Majesty's Government will in vain consider 
this territory as an unquestionable portion of the Colony of 
British Guiana, when against such declaration stands as an 
incontestable testimony of which public opinion is fully aware 
the history of this boundary question for the last fifty years. 
This history plainly shows the questionable nature of the pre- 
tended rights of the Colony of British Guiana; and before the 
High Tribunal of public opinion one single stroke of the pen 
of Her Britannic Majesty's Government can never sufifice to 
efface the verdict condemning acts of force as unduly per- 
formed as they are useless. 

It is my duty to again protest most solemnly in the name of 



280 



the Venezuelan Governmeat against the acts of the Colony of 
British Guiana which constitute an invasion upon the territory 
of the Republic; and I also protest against the declaration in 
Your Excellency's communication, that Her Britannic Maj- 
esty's Government consider that portion of the territory as 
forming part of British Guiana, and that no claim whatever 
from Venezuela upon the same can be admitted. In support of 
this protest, I hereby confirm all the arguments contained in 
my communication to Your Excellency bearing date of the 
29tn of September ultimo, and also all the facts presented by 
the Government of Venezuela in the several occasions in which 
it has been obliged to make this same protest. 

I will close by casting upon Her Britannic Majesty's Gov- 
ernment all the responsibility of the acts that may take place 
in the future, owing to the necessity in which Venezuela is 
placed to oppose by all possible means the spoliation of any 
portion of her territory, since the refusal to put an end to this 
violent situation by means of arbitration is a disavowal of all 
her rights that places her in the painful position which she is 
forced to assume to provide for the legitimate defense of her 
rights. 

I have the honor to remain Your Lordship's obedient hum- 
ble servant, 

TOMAS MiCHELENA. 

To His Lordship the Earl of Rosebery, Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of 
State. 



281 



PART XIII. 

Dr. Lobo to Mr. Gresham. 

[Translation.] 

Lkgation of Venezuela. 
Washington, October 26, 1893. 

Dr. David Lobo, Charge d' Affaires ad interim of Vene- 
:zuela, presents his compliments to the Secretary of State, and 
in compliance with the request expressed by the Secretary at 
the interview of October 24th, has the honor to enclose here- 
with a brief review of the boundary question pending between 
Venezuela and Great Britain. 

He asks the Secretary also to inform him on what day it 
will be convenient to the former to have him call at the Depart- 
ment for a fresh discussion of the subject referred to. 

To the Honorable the Secretary of State. 



Promi?ient Facts Relatifig to the Boundary Question between 
Venezuela and Great Britain. 

Legation of Venezuela. 

The Republic of Venezuela inherited from Spain all the 
territories formerly known as Captaincy-General of Venezuela. 

Guiana was a province thereof. It was bounded by the 
Atlantic ocean on the east, and by the Amazon river on the 
south. 

A part of this territory had been invaded by the Dutch, 
during their war of independence. Their rights over the 
newly-acquired possessions along the northern coast of South 
America were recognized by Spain on the 30th of January, 
1648 (Treaty of Miinster). 

In the extradition treaty signed at Aranjuez on June 23, 
1791, by Spain and Holland, the Islands of St. Eustache and 
Cura9ao, and the colonies named Essequibo, Demerara, Ber- 



282 



bice, and Surinam, lying east of Venezuela, were considered 
to be Dutch possessions. 

Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were transferred to 
Great Britain through the treaty of London, August 13, 1814. 
England has no other titles in Guiana than those conferred by 
virtue of this treaty, so that in 181 1, the year of Venezuelan 
independence, the Essequibo river was the boundary between 
Dutch Guiana and Venezuela. The Essequibo limit was fur- 
thermore maintained by the Government of Colombia, in 1822, 
and has been established in the Constitution of Venezuela up 
to the present time. 

184 1. — An English Commissioner, Engineer Schomburgk, 
planted posts and other marks of dominion in Barima and 
Amacuro, far west of the Essequibo river. The Government 
protested and Her British Majesty ordered the prompt re- 
moval of the marks, which, it was stated, were not intended 
to indicate possession. 

1844. — The Minister Plenipotentiary of Venezuela in Lon- 
don, Seilor Fortique, succeeded in opening negotiations with 
England, after three years' preliminaries, and proposed the 
Essequibo river as a divisional line between Venezuela and 
British Guiana. 

Lord Aberdeen, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, proposed 
the Moroco, a river west of the Essequibo, but the Govern- 
ment did not accept the latter line, as it deprived the Republic 
of the tract of land lying between the two rivers. 

1850. — To . the effect of contradicting a rumor that Great 
Britain intended to claim jurisdiction over Venezuelan Guiana, 
Mr. Wilson, then British Charge d' Affaires to Venezuela, 
stated that his Government had no intention to occupy the 
region disputed; that they would neither order such occupa- 
tions nor sanction them on the part of their authorities, and 
that the latter would be enjoined to refrain from such acts. He 
also requested and obtained a similar declaration from the 
Government of Venezuela. 

1876. — The settlement of the question was again urged by 
Venezuela, and in February, 1877, Dr. J. M. Rojas, Minister 



283 



Resident in London, reopened the negotiations commenced by 
Senor Fortique. He stated that the proposition offered by 
Lord Aberdeen had not been accepted because of certain con- 
ditions connected with it which interfered with the sovereignty 
of the country. He also expressed the conciUatory sentiments 
of the Government ; but the consideration of the matter was 
postponed by the British Cabinet until after the arrival of the 
Governor of British Guiana, who was expected in London 
about March. 

1879-1881. — Dr. Rojas, who had resigned his post in 1878, 
was again appointed to the Legation in London. On the 12th 
of April, 1880, he informed Lord Salisbury that Venezuela, in 
order to come to a satisfactory agreement, would abandon the 
position of strict right and adopt a frontier to the convenience 
of both parties, such as the Moroco river, indicated by 
Lord Aberdeen in 1844, ^ boundary on the coast. 

Her Majesty's Government replied, February 12, 1881, 
that the Moroco line could not longer be admitted, but that 
they would consider any conventional line starting from a 
point on the coast south of the former. 

On the 2 1st of the same month Dr. Rojas sent his answer 
to Lord Granville and suggested, as a proof of the friendly 
wishes of Venezuela, the drawing of a line commencing on the 
coast one mile north of the mouth of the Moroco. He also 
declared that, in case of non-acceptance, there was no other 
course left but arbitration. Lord Granville equally rejected 
the new boundary, and proposed another which he described 
in a confidential memorandum. This compromise was carefully 
examined by the Government and found utterly unacceptable, 
as it established a limit widely different from the original 
Essequibo frontier, and was based on certain assumptions 
absolutely erroneous. 

1883. — General Guzman Blanco was appointed Envoy Ex- 
traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain, for 
the settlement of this and various other matters. While nego- 
tiating a new treaty of commerce, he obtained from the British 
Government a written promise to submit to arbitration all 



284 



disputes arising between the two countries, the Guiana boun- 
dary question included. A change in the ministry took place 
shortly afterwards, and Lord Rosebery, Lord Granville's 
successor, refused to keep the aforesaid promise on the ground 
that controversies on limits could not be judged by arbitration. 
Lord Rosebery evidently forgot that England appUed it to 
similar disputes with the United States, in 1827 and 187 1, 
when the King of Holland and the Emperor of Germany 
acted as arbiters. 

1886. — Lord Rosebery presented a new frontier. This 
was deemed inadmissible for several reasons, one of them 
being that, conjointly with it, a demand was introduced for free 
navigation and commerce on the Orinoco river. 

As the invasion went on without interruption and acts of 
jurisdiction over the Venezuelan territory were constantly com- 
mitted by English authorities, the Venezuelan Legation sol- 
emnly protested and demanded satisfaction. 

1887. — On the 6th of January Venezuela reiterated her 
willingness to appeal to arbitration, pursuant to which she 
demanded the previous evacuation of the region between the 
Orinoco and Pomaron rivers, declaring at the same time that if 
by the 20th of February no answer had been given, or a nega- 
tive one had been returned, she would be forced to sever her 
diplomatic relations with England. 

The proposition for arbitration was again refused. Vene- 
zuela accordingly protested once more against the grievous 
proceedings of Great Britain, and suspended relations with 
her on the 20th of February, 1887. 

Through the intervention of the United States Lord Salis- 
bury consented to receive Dr. Lucio Pulido in 1890, as Con- 
fidential Agent of the Republic. Notwithstanding his efforts, 
Dr. Pulido did not obtain a satisfactory arrangement, and 
returned to Venezuela soon after. 

Senor Tomas Michelena was appointed to London with the 
.same character some months ago, with a view to promote and 
procure the re-establishment of her former connections with 
Great Britain; but since Lord Rosebery, while disposed to 



285 



surrender the controversy to the decision of an arbiter, does 
not admit the existence of Venezuelan titles over the territories 
comprised between the Essequibo river and the Schomburgk 
line, as shown in the map hereto subjoined, and is absolutely 
negative as to considering the possession of this vast portion 
of land subject to arbitration, no practical or valuable results 
can be reached through the renewal of friendship without the 
formal pledge of England that it is desirous to settle the con- 
flict in accordance with the laws of justice and right. 

Venezuela is, and always has been, willing to submit to 
arbitration. In pursuance of this purpose, she invoked and 
obtained the moral help of all the American republics. She 
instructed her Minister in Washington, in 1890, to request the 
friendly services of the Government of the United States, 
which were cordially offered her, inasmuch, said Mr. Blaine, 
as the volume of evidence in favor of Venezuela is over- 
whelming and mostly derived from English sources. 

David Lobo. 

October 26, 1893. 



Mr, Andrade to Mr. Gresham. 

[Translation.] 

Legation of Venezuela. 
Washington, March 31, 1894. 

Sir: 

In our interview of the 8th of last January, the subject of 
which was the endless and vexed boundary controversy be- 
tween Venezuela and Great Britain, Your Excellency ex- 
pressed the wish that I should explain in writing certain espe- 
cial points connected with it. This I have endeavored to dOy 
so far as it has been in my power, in the memorandum which 
I have the honor to hand to Your Excellency. It is only a 
brief history of the discussion between the two parties, from 
its commencement up to the present day. 

Your Excellency will see by that document, first, that al- 
though the question has not yet been adjusted, Great Britain. 



286 



has departed from the agreement concluded with V^enezuela 
by which the contested territory was declared neutral so long 
as the controversy remained unsettled, and taken possession of 
the said territory, and now exercises over it all the rights of 
exclusive domain ; and, second, that all the diplomatic means 
havinof failed bv which she could obtain the acknowledcjment 
of her right and a reparation for the offense received from 
her opponent, Venezuela has invited the latter for years past 
to submit the contest to arbitration, and that Great Britain has 
inflexibly declined her just demand. 

Vainly have the Government of the United States, on dif- 
ferent occasions and under various forms, expressed their wish 
to see the difficulty settled by award of arbitrators, and vainly, 
also, have the Governments of Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, 
Chile, Argentine Republic, Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, 
Costa Rica, and Haiti interposed in that direction their friendly 
recommendations to the British Foreign Office. Her Britannic 
Majesty's Government have persisted in their refusal. 

The precedents established by Great Britain herself in va- 
rious cases of similar differences with other nations, have 
proved equally powerless to influence her and to persuade 
her to adjust in the same way her dispute with Venezuela. 

In 1829, she consented to submit to the decision of the King 
of Holland a boundary question with the United States; a 
similar one with Portugal, in 1872, to the judgment of the 
President of the French Republic, Marshal MacMahon, and 
recently, in 1893, to the Court of Arbitration of Paris the dif- 
ference concerning the sphere of action and jurisdiction in the 
Bering Sea, which can be properly called a boundary question. 

If Her Britannic Majesty's Government believes that in the 
cause, nature, and object of their dispute with Venezuela there 
is something to make it differ from the disputes just men- 
tioned, and to sufficiently legitimatize her obstinate resistance; 
if they consider their titles to be so unquestionable that it is 
useless to ascertain on whose part justice is; if they are afraid 
to abandon a right which, in their opinion, is certain and per- 
fect, and to expose the dignity and independence of their 



287 



country by allowing an authorized and impartial court to tell 
them whether or not their pretensions are fully justified, then 
those motives themselves could be submitted to the judgment 
of arbiters, under this form, namely: *'Is Great Britain right 
in refusing to surrender to arbitration her boundary contro- 
versy with Venezuela? " If what she seeks is justice, why 
does she object to its being established and proved by the 
arbiter or arbiters? 

International law does not offer at the present time any 
better means of solving a controversy, specially when relating 
to frontiers, in accordance with the principles of equity and 
justice, than the reference of it to the decision of an umpire; 
neither can it be contended that such reference can in any way 
affect the dignity or independence of a State. In proof of 
this, it would be difficult to cite a fact of greater consequence 
and authority, as England herself must avow, than the famous 
arbitration of Geneva, which decided the question of the "Al- 
abama " ; and, but for fear of importuning Your Excellency, 
the undersigned could recall for further evidence many sub- 
sequent cases, equally decisive, to demonstrate the tendency 
of all the civihzed Governments of our days to impose upon 
themselves voluntarily, rather than shun, the obligation of sub- 
jecting to arbitration all controversies, of whatsoever kind 
they may be. 

The authority of the law of arbitration is so generally 
acknowledged to-day by civil States that any refusal to submit 
to it is esteemed by the most renowned writers on international 
law as sufficient reason to justify, on the part of him who 
claims, the employment of coercitive means for the purpose of 
forcing the other party. Venezuela cannot successfully resort 
to this expedient, from which she would probably not derive, 
on account of the very same reason, any other result than that 
of hastening the cessation of the state of peace in which, by 
dint of self-control, she has maintained herself in regard to her 
powerful opponent. She certainly desires a reparation for her 
trampled rights and interests, but so far, as it has been shown, 
through the judicial proceeding that modern civilization en- 



288 



deavors to establish as a regular and ordinary means of pre- 
venting war. 

Conformably to their custom of seeking and obtaining the 
help of the United States for the better adjustment of this same 
conflict, the Government of Venezuela have instructed me to 
ascertain the mind of the Government of this Republic as to 
their present disposition to tender their aid in the peaceful 
design of procuring the final acceptance by England of the 
civilized recourse proposed by Venezuela for the honorable 
settlement of the question. 

The United States has asserted as a principle in which it 
considers its own rights and interest to be involved, that the 
nations of the American Continent, after having acquired the 
liberty and independence which they enjoy and maintain, are 
not subject to colonization by any European power; and the 
Government of the undersigned entertain the hope that 
in the aforesaid declaration, and in the judicial guardianship of 
international law, which, to a certain extent, the United States 
assumed on this continent in virtue of that declaration, and 
which it has actually exercised hitherto, the Government of 
Your Excellency will find sufficient reasons of political conve- 
nience, and, perhaps, even of moral obligation, to allow them to 
adopt such a tone in their new representations as may convince 
Great Britain, without affecting her inviolableness or that of 
anything lawfully pertaining to her, of the necessity of granting 
to Venezuela what Venezuela has an undeniable right to demand 
of her. 

I beg to offer to Your Excellency the renewed assurance of 
my highest consideration. ]ost Andrade. 

To His Excellency W. Q. Gresliam, Secretar}- of State. 

[Inclosure — Translation.] 

Mernoraiiditm on the Boundary Questioji between Venezuela and 
British Guiana, Communicated to the Honorable W. Q. Gresham, 
Secretary of State. 

Venezuela's rights over the territory in dispute are, as it is 
known, derived from Spain, whose sovereignty, titles and ac- 



289 



tions, which she inherited by the event of her independence, 
were afterwards ratified by virtue of the treaty of recognition, 
peace, and amity concluded between the two nations on the 
30th of March, 1845. 

The sovereignty, titles, and actions which, in this solemn 
instrument, were renounced by His Catholic Majesty, in his 
name and in that of his heirs and successors, are the same 
which the Spanish Sovereign possessed until 1810 over the 
country formerly known as Captaincy-General of Venezuela. 
This being subsequently constituted as an independent Repub- 
lic, included thirteen provinces, that of Guiana among them. 

By that time the Captaincy-General of Venezuela had the fol- 
lowing geographical boundaries : on the north the Caribbean 
sea and Atlantic ocean beyond the eastern bank of the Esse- 
quibo; on the south, the Maraiion or Amazon river; on the 
west, the Vice-royalty of Santa Fe, and on the east, Dutch 
Guiana which, by the convention of August 13th, 1814. signed 
in London by His British Majesty and the United Provinces 
of the Netherlands, came to be the British Guiana of the pres- 
ent time. Such, at least, had been the allegation of the Span- 
ish Governments ever since 1648, and such the position which 
they considered themselves entitled to maintain, founded on 
treaties of peace and friendship, and of boundaries with Portu- 
gal, Holland and England; and the fact is furthermore attested 
by countless schedules, ordinances, instructions and other offi- 
<:ial deeds of the King of Spain, together with no smaller a 
number of historians, travelers, geographers and hydrograph- 
ers that it is not within my scope to specify here. Apart from 
the limits referred to, the territory lying west and south as far 
as the Portuguese possessions of Brazil, belonged in its entirety 
to the Crown of Spain in 18 10, notwithstanding any transitory 
or not well asserted occupancy of some spot on the seashore 
on or about the Orinoco river, or along the rivers in the inte- 
rior, with posts, barracks, forts, stores or other settlements of 
the West Indies Company not legally authorized, or of the 
Dutch smugglers who, from an early date had often infested 
Spanish Guiana. The regions thus occupied had their lawful 



290 



owner, who had never relinquished them, and without whose 
consent they could not be appropriated for any use, he having- 
at all times looked on the settlers as usurpers of his dominions 
from which he would expel them even by force of arms. 

Venezuela, furthermore, has never confirmed such usurpa- 
tions by any consent, law, treaty, cession or act whatever of 
voluntary abandonment. Out of moderation and prudence, 
however, she has contented herself with claiming the Esse- 
quibo line as that dividing Venezuelan Guiana from British 
Guiana. Starting from the mouth of said river, this line runs 
southward up-stream as far as 4° 12' north latitude, half way 
between the mouths of the Sibarona and Rupumuni; thence 
eastward across the Essequibo, and one-fourth to the south- 
east over the Tumucuraque mountains, and finally bends to 
the southeast until it reaches 2° 10' south latitude and 56° 4^ 
west longitude, where it meets the mountains of Acaray, in- 
habited by the Chiriguana Indians. 

As regards her right of possession, as heiress to Spain, over 
the territory inclosed within the aforesaid bounds, she has never 
entertained the least doubt; she considers such right to be 
clear, historically evident, and easily demonstrable. In her 
opinion, the vast tract of land occupied by the settlers from 
Demerara and Berbice has been unquestionably usurped, but 
the necessity of devoting herself, as she naturally did, to the 
supreme struggle for her independence first, and afterwards to 
the absorbing work of her internal organization when she 
separated from the old Republic of Colombia, thus neglecting 
all questions not essential to her existence, prevented her from 
seeking a definitive adjustment of the matter with England. 

Great Britain, on the other hand, had herself shown no in- 
terest in discussing it, apparently satisfied with possessing de 
facto the Pomaron district, which the force of events had al- 
lowed her to retain. For the first time in 1840 she evinced 
greater pretensions. At the latter part of said year she com- 
missioned Sir R. H. Schomburgk, without the knowledge or 
acquiescence of Venezuela, to examine and lay down the boun- 
daries of British Guiana, and directed the Governor of this 



Colony to withstand all aggressions on the territories adjoining 
the frontier, until then inhabited by independent tribes. The 
Venezuelan Department of Foreign Relations was kept igno- 
rant of such measures until informed by Her Majesty's Consul 
at Caracas, when they had already been, or were unavoidably 
to be, carried out. Thus the English engineer was enabled to 
reach the mouths of the Barima and Amacuro on the Ormoco, 
where he erected a sentry-box, hoisted his nation's flag and set 
up royal monograms and other emblems. He then proceeded 
to the interior of the country, made surveys, delineated metes 
and bounds, and drew out maps. Such was the origin of the 
so-called Schomburgk line. 

Venezuela, however, did not tolerate the action taken by the 
British Government, for she immediately complained and re- 
monstrated, until due satisfaction was obtained. According to 
explanations given by the Government of Demerara, the Com- 
mission intrusted to Schomburgk was only a part of a project 
which Lord Palmerston had recommended to the Secretary 
of State at the Colonial Office of the United Kingdom, to the 
effect that a map of British Guiana should be figured in ac- 
cordance with the bounds described by the aforesaid engineer, 
to which was to be appended a report illustrative of the natu- 
ral features defining and constituting them; that a copy of 
both the map and report should be sent to the Governments 
of Venezuela, Brazil, and the Netherlands, as a statement of 
the British claims, and that, meanwhile, commissioners should 
be dispatched for the purpose of establishing posts on the landy 
intended to represent permanent marks of the boundaries to 
which Great Britain pretended; which being done, and after 
each of the three Governments interested had offered their 
objections, stating the arguments in support of their assertions, 
the British Government would present the reasons they 
deemed proper and just. Consequently, Schomburgk's marks 
were to be regarded as a measure conformable to Lord Palm- 
erston's purpose, not as symbols of possession capable of be- 
coming, later on, titles of sovereignty for any of the four 
States, exclusive of all other nations that could lay claim to 



292 



the region thus bounded. And, as though to dispel all doubts 
regarding the real intention of Her Britannic Majesty's Govern- 
nment, Lord Aberdeen added to the above explanation an 
order, which was actually executed, to remove all the marks. 

Considering the occasion favorable for the full and decisive 
establishment, by treaty, of the boundaries between the two 
Guianas, the Venezuelan Government had resolved to profit by 
it, and to authorize to that effect their Diplomatic Minister at 
London, Senor Fortique, who unfortunately died before he had 
succeeded in securing to his countr}' the fruit of the negotia- 
tion with which he had been intrusted. He had time, how- 
ever, to induce Great Britain to admit the supremacy of the 
Venezuelan titles over the territory between the rivers Mo- 
roco and Orinoco, as it appears by the line lastly proposed by 
Lord Aberdeen, viz.: 

*'Beginning on the east coast at the mouth of the river 
Moroco, it runs straight to a point where the river Barama 
joins the Guaima: from there up the Barima as far as the 
Aunama, which it follows upward to the place where this 
creek reaches its shortest distance from the Acaribisi; then it 
descends the said Acaribisi as far as its confluence with the 
Cuyuni, following afterwards the latter river up-stream until 
it reaches the high lands in the immediate neighborhood of 
Mount Roraima, which divides the waters flowing to the Es- 
«equibo from those running into the river Branco.'' 

" Great Britain " (finally said Lord Aberdeen) " is disposed 
to cede to Venezuela the whole of the territor}' situated be- 
tween the line mentioned and the Amacuro river and the 
chain of mountains where it takes its source, on condition that 
the Government of the RepubHc shall bind themselves not 
to alienate any portion of said territory to any foreign power, 
and also that the Indian tribes at present residing in it shall be 
protected against ill-treatment and oppression." 

This was simply a resumption of her position in 1836, when 
the British Legation at Caracas admitted that the Venezuelan 
Government had legal power to pass decision in matters relat- 
ing to the construction of lighthouses at Punta Barima and 



293 



the setting of beacons at the large mouth of the Orinoco, and of 
1838, when the Governor of Demerara expressed his opinion, in 
official dispatch, dated the ist of September (Parliamentary 
Papers) that the Pomaron river, west of the Essequibo, could 
be accepted as the limit of the English colony. 

As, however, the delineation proposed dispossessed Vene- 
zuela of the territory comprised between the rivers Pomaron 
and Essequibo which she claimed to be her dominion, she did 
not esteem convenient to admit it without certain modifications, 
which she sent to London, but which were never submitted 
to Her Majesty's Government, owing to the discontinuance oE 
the negotiations consequent to the decease of the Venezuelan 
Minister. In her opinion, however. Lord Aberdeen's pro- 
posal has lost nothing of its import as a proof that she never 
accepted Schomburgk's line, and that Great Britain herself had 
formally desisted, not only from upholding said line, but from 
Lord Palmerston's design, and, after a renewed and more 
conscientious consideration of her titles, had renounced all 
dominion o/er the land between the Moroco and Amacuro. 
Such was the state of affairs about the middle of 1844. 

A few years later, in 1850, a rumor spread that Great 
Britain intended to take possession o£ the Venezuelan province 
of Guiana. This gave rise to a public feeling of indignation, 
which manifested itself in the organization of patriotic socie- 
ties all over the country for the purpose of opposing and 
repulsing the aggression. The Government directed the 
authorities of the province especially menaced to prepare it 
for defense and to repair and fit out all the forts, until then 
dismantled and abandoned, and a bill was introduced in the 
House of Representatives authorizing the Executive to have 
a fortress immediately erected on the spot held to be the 
boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana, without in- 
dicating it. 

The intense excitement of the public feeling already re- 
ferred to did not fail to attract the notice of the English Grov- 
ernment, who, foreseeing the possibility of hostile acts on the 
part of the Venezuelan authorities of Guiana, anticipated 



294 



them by communicating to the Lord's Commissioners of the 
Admiralty the instructions they deemed convenient to transmit 
to the Vice-admiral of Her Majesty's naval forces in the West 
Indies, to be carried out in case the aforesaid authorities should 
insist upon fortifying the territory in dispute between Great 
Britain and Venezuela. On the other hand, they authorized 
their Charge d' Affaires at Caracas to deny the popular report 
attributing to Her Majesty's Government certain intentions, 
in every respect unfounded and contrary to the truth, and 
likewise to declare that, while his Government did not intend 
to occupy or encroach upon the territory in dispute, nor would 
order or sanction at any time such occupancy or encroach- 
ment by British authorities, they could not see with indiffer- 
ence the aggressions of Venezuela upon that territory. They 
accordingly expected that the Venezuelan Government would 
make a similar declaration and would consent to send their 
agents in Guiana positive orders to refrain from taking any 
steps that might justly be regarded as aggressive by the Eng- 
lish authorities. 

In reply, Venezuela likewise manifested that she entertained 
no intention whatever to encroach upon or occupy any portion 
of the territory the possession of which was controverted by 
the two States; neither would she look with indifference upon 
a contrary proceeding on the part of Great Britain, and that, 
moreover, she would enjoin her auchorities in Guiana to take 
no steps that might violate the obligation which that agree- 
ment imposed upon the Government. 

Such was the status quo of the question in 1850. 

In 1848 and 1849 Venezuela had just started on the path 
of internal disturbances and armed revolutions, which afflicted 
her during more than a quarter of a century, and prevented 
her from attending to the boundary question with Great 
Britain, no action either having been urged by the latter coun- 
try during that period. 

It was scarcely on two occasions, and perhaps only in a 
dissembling way, that Great Britain was seen to take any steps 
in regard to Venezuelan Guiana. I allude to the steps she took 



295 



in 1857, through her Charge d' Affaires at Caracas, intended 
to obtain a permission of the Executive, by virtue of which 
scientific expeditions composed of British subjects might visit 
the mining region of Venezuela, with the purpose of not in- 
fringing her rights, but simply of ascertaining the situation 
and prospect of the gold deposits, and report about them. 
The Government replied that they would admit without ob- 
jection the announced expeditions, and would treat them with 
the benevolence due to their object, provided they entered 
through the capital of the province of Guiana. The other 
occasion occurred in 1874, when the English subject, Thomas 
Garret, suspected of homicide, was captured in Venezuelan 
territory by agents proceeding from Demerara. Venezuela 
demanded his delivery and obtained the suspension of the trial, 
though later on the case was taken up again by order of Her 
Britannic Majesty's Government, on the ground that, as as- 
serted by the British Resident Minister at Caracas, the arrest 
had been made in places claimed by both countries, and that it 
was improper that such places should serve as a refuge for 
criminals of either nationality, under protection of the agree- 
ment of 1850, since nothing was more distant from the mind 
of His Government than to sanction any violation of the terri- 
torial rights of the Republic. 

In 1876, new indications of a decided purpose to carry on- 
ward the discussion were evinced by the Venezuelan Foreign 
Department. Such may be considered the note, dated iTovem- 
her of the same year, which it addressed to the British For- 
eign Office, and which was subsequently communicated in 
form of memorandum bearing the same date, to the Hon. Mr. 
Fish, for the information of the Government of the United 
States ; the appointment of Dr. Jose Maria Rojas as Resident 
Minister in London, and, finally, the President's Message to 
Congress in 1877. 

Though Senor Rojas acted dihgently from the outset to the 
-effect of promoting the issue of the negotiations interrupted in 
1844 by the death of Senor Fortique, he did not succeed any 
better than his predecessor. 



296 



The ground of strict right having been abandoned by mutual 
accord, Seilor Rojas entered upon that of compromises and 
suggested that Venezuela would willingly accept the Moroco 
line, which had been spontaneously offered by Lord Aberdeen 
thirty-seven years before. Lord Granville this time refused 
to concede it, without stating any reason for his refusal, 
and, after rejecting another line devised by the Venezuelan 
negotiator, proposed the following, which, in his opinion, was 
not very different : 

The starting-point will be a spot on the seashore, exactly 
twenty-nine miles longitude east of the right bank of the 
Barima river, whence the line would be carried south over the 
Mountain or Hill of Yarikita to the 8° parallel of latitude ; 
thence westerly along this parallel till it crossed the bound- 
ary line drawn by Schomburgk; then to the Acaribisi and 
along this river until it entered the Cuyuni; along the left 
bank of the latter river up to its sources, and thence, in a 
southeastern direction, to Schomburgk's line, as far as the Es- 
sequibo and Corentyn rivers. That indicated by Mr. Rojas, 
referred to at the commencement of this paragraph, was to 
start from the coast, one mile north of the mouth of the Mo- 
roco, where a post would be planted; then run directly south- 
ward as far as the boundaries of both countries, along a verti- 
cal line beginning at the aforesaid post and extending between 
the 59° and 6o° meridians, west of Greenwich^ 

Lord Granville, consequently, stood considerably apart from 
the Minister of Venezuela, still more from Lord Aberdeen, 
his predecessor in 1844, and still more even from Senor For- 
tique, the opponent of Lord Aberdeen, who had advocated 
the historical line of the Essequibo river. Moreover, he made 
reference in various points to Schomburgk's uncertain and ca- 
pricious demarcation; he did not comprehend in his proposal 
the whole extent of the frontier to be designated, and, above 
all, he conferred upon Great Britain, without any valuable rea- 
son, a vast tract in regard to which she appeared to have re- 
nounced her vague intentions through Lord Aberdeen. In 
consequence thereof the Government of Venezuela deter- 

^ Bv some inadvertance the 'Rojas Line" is here described erroneously. For correct de- 
scription, see Dr. Rojas" note to Lord Granville, dated February 21, 1881 ; also map herewith. 



297 



mined to refuse their assent to the proposal and to discontinue 
the interchange of projects of adjustment which, so far, had 
only succeeded in convincing them how difficult it was to con- 
ciliate the rights and interests of the antagonistic parties 
through direct negotiations between them. Four years, from 
1841 to 1844, had been wasted away by the Republic in 
fruitless attempts to bring about an understanding with her 
neighbor, while Dr. Rojas's mission, equally unsuccessful, had 
already lasted a longer period, from 1877 to 1881. The Col- 
ony of Demerara, profiting by the interval between this mis- 
sion and the previous one, had silently advanced its settlements 
on the Orinoco and Caroni, projected the opening of roads 
into Venezuela, sent expeditionists to the mining regions of 
the country, etc. And, finally, at the close of 1880, while Dr; 
Rojas was still negotiating in London, the press of Ciudad^ 
Bolivar, the capital city of the State of Guiana, had reported 
the appearance of a man-of-war and merchant vessel, both 
British, at the mouth of the river Orinoco, provided with 
posts, wire, and other telegraphic articles. 

Notice of the occurrence was given to the Government of 
the United States by Senor Simon Camacho, Resident Min- 
ister of Venezuela at Washington, in his note dated the 21st 
of December of the same year, 1880, to which the Hon. Mr. 
William M. Evarts returned the following answer on the 31st 
of January, 1881 : 

*' In reply, I have to inform you that in view of the deep in 
terest which the Government of the United States takes in 
all transactions tending to attempted encroachments of foreign 
powers upon the territory of any of the republics of this con- 
tinent, this Government could not look with indifference to the 
forcible acquisition of such territory by England, if the mis- 
sion of the vessels now at the mouth of the Orinoco should be 
found to be for that end. This Government awaits, therefore, 
with natural concern the more particular statement promised 
by the Government of Venezuela, which it hopes will not be 
long delayed." 



298 



On the 2Sth of February, i83i, when he was on the point 
to retire from office the Hon. Mr. Evarts wrote: 

" Referrinc^ to your note of the 21st of December last, 
touching the operations of certain British war vessels in and 
near the mouth of the Orinoco river, and to m\' reply thereto 
of the 31st ultimo, as well as to the recent occasions in which 
the subject has been mentioned in our conferences concerning 
the business of your mission, I take it to be fitting now, at the 
close of my incumbency of the office I hold, to advert to the 
interest with which the Government of the United States can- 
not fail to regard any such purpose with respect to the control 
of American territory as is stated to be contemplated by the 
Government of Great Britain, and to express my regret that 
the further information promised in your note with regard to 
such designs had not reached me in season to receive the at- 
tention which, notwithstanding the severe pressure of public 
business at the end of an administrative term, J should have 
taken pleasure in bestowing upon it. I doubt not, however, 
that your representations in fulfillment of the awaited addi- 
tional orders of your Government, will have like earnest and 
solicitous consideration at the hands of my successor." 

The information announced by Mr. Camacho did not reach 
the department until November, 1882, at which time Mr. 
Frederick F. Frelinghuysen was alread}' Secretary of State. 
It contained, besides other documents, a copy of a *' memo- 
randum " by Mr. Seijas on the boundary question with Brit- 
ish Guiana; a copy of the note, dated September 15th, 1881, 
wherein Lord Granville communicated to Mr. Rojas his pro- 
posal above mentioned, and of the memorandum subjoined to 
it; and a cop}' of the minute " of the negative response the 
Venezuelan Government intended to give to that note, resort- 
ing to arbitration as the only resource available in future for 
the satisfactory arrangement of the difference. The Presi- 
dent of the Republic thus submitted the matter to the Gov- 
ernment at Washington, " hoping that it would give him their 
opinion and advice, and soliciting such support as they es- 
teemed possible to offer Venezuela in order that justice should 



299 



be made to her." I beg to present an extract or Mr. Freling- 
huysen's reply, as set forth in his dispatch dated January 31st, 
1883, to Mr. Jehu Baker, who was then the United States 
diplomatic representative at Caracas: 

'* This Government has already expressed its view that ar- 
bitration of such disputes is a convenient resort in the case of 
failure to come to a mumal understanding, and intimated its 
willingness, if Venezuela should so desire, to propose to Great 
Britain such a mode of settlement. It is felt that the tender 
of good offices would not be so profitable if the United States 
were to approach Great Britain as the advocate oE any pre- 
judged solution in favor of Venezuela. So far as the United 
States can counsel and assist Venezuela, it believes it best to 
confine its reply to the renewal of the suggestion of arbitration 
and the offer of all its good offices in that direction. This 
suggestion is the more easily made, since it appears from the 
instruction sent by Seiior Seijas to the Venezuelan Minister in 
London on the same 15th of July, i 882, that the President of 
Venezuela proposed to the British Government the submission 
of the dispute to arbitration by a third power. 

*^ You will take an early occasion to present the foregoing 
consideration to Senor Seijas, saying to him that, while trusting 
that the direct proposal for arbitration already made to Great 
Britain may bear good fruit (if, indeed, it has not already done 
so by its acceptance in principle) the Government of the 
United States will cheerfully lend any needful aid to press 
upon Great Britain, in a friendly way, the proposition so made, 
and at the same time you will say to Senor Seijas (in personal 
conference and not with the formality of a written communi- 
cation) that the United States, while advocating strongly the 
recourse of arbitration for the adjustment of international dis- 
putes affecting the States of America, does not seek to put 
itself forward as their arbiter; that, viewing all such ques- 
tions impartially and with no intent or desire to prejudge their 
merits, the United States will not refuse its arbitration if asked 
by both parties, and that, regarding all such questions as essen- 
tially and distinctively American, the United States would 



300 



always prefer to see such contentions adjusted through the 
arbitrament of an American rather than a European power." 

The response of Venezuela to Lord Granville's proposal, 
adverted to by the Hon. Mr. Frelinghuysen, had not been yet 
sent to its destination, nor could it be sent after the opinion of 
the United States was communicated, as Dr. Jose Maria Rojas 
had meanwhile retired from his post by resignation, and no 
one had been as yet nominated in his place. This, however, 
did not prevent the questions pending between Great Britain 
and Venezuela from becoming soon again the subjects of 
candid discussion, through the initiative of Great Britain. 
These questions were three, relating severally to boundaries, 
discriminating duties on merchandise imported from the West 
Indies, and pecuniary claims. Great Britain solicited that they 
should be treated and resolved conjointly, and thus brought on 
a long and amicable correspondence between her representa- 
tive at Caracas and the Department of Foreign Affairs, which 
was in proper time communicated to the Government of the 
United States, as also the appointment of General Guzman 
Blanco, Ex-President of the Republic, as Envoy Extraordi- 
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary near Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government. 

The new Diplomatic Agent of Venezuela visited this city 
on his way to England, and held several conferences relating 
to the various objects of his mission with the Honorable Sec- 
retary of State, by whom he was recommended to Mr. Lowell 
in a confidential note, dated July 7, 1884, the two last para- 
graphs of which read as follows: 

" It will necessarily be somewhat within your discretion how 
far your good offices may be profitably employed with Her 
Majesty's Government to these ends, and at any rate you may 
take proper occasion to let Lord Granville know that we are 
not without concern as to whatever may affect the interests of 
a sister Republic of the American Continent and its position in 
the family of nations. 

" If General Guzman should apply to you for advice or as- 
sistance in reahzing the purposes of his mission, you will show 



30.1 



him proper consideration, and without committing the United 
States to an}^ determinate pohtical solution, you will endeavor 
to carry out the views of this instruction." 

This tir.ie Venezuela could for a moment cherish the belief 
that she had reached the desired close of her boundary dis- 
pute, for, in spite of the adverseness of Great Britain to arbi- 
tration, as manifested beforehand by her Resident Minister at 
Caracas, and now steadily maintained in London by Lord 
Granville, General Guzman Blanco had succeeded in obtaining 
his a<=!sent to sign atreat}^ of amity, commerce, and navigation, 
substituting that of 1825, wherein an article (XV.) was ad- 
mitted in the following terms: 

If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between the 
United States of Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland any difference which cannot be adjusted by 
the usual means of friendly negotiation, the two contracting 
parties agree to submit the decision of all such differences to 
the arbitration of a third power, or of several powers in amity 
with both, without resorting to war, and that the result of such 
arbitration shall be binding upon both Governments. 

The arbitrating power or powers shall be selected by the 
two Governments by common consent, failing which, each of 
the parties shall nominate an arbitrating power, and the arbi- 
trators thus appointed shall be requested to select another 
power to act as umpire. 

" The procedure of the arbitration shall in each case be de- 
termined by the contracting parties, failing which, the arbi- 
trating power or powers shall be themselves entitled to deter- 
mine it beforehand." 

Lord Granville's acceptance, as given in his note to General 
Guzman, dated 15th of May, 1885, i*^^ads thus: 

" M. LE Ministre: I have the honor to acknowledge the 
receipt, on the 12th instant, of your note dated the 6th instant, 
respecting the proposed new treaty between Great Britain 
and Venezuela. 

" In reply, I have the honor to inform you that Her Maj- 
esty's Government agree to the substitution of the phrase 



302 



* power ' to be chosen by the high contracting parties, instead 
of * arbitrators,' in the article respecting arbitration, and that 
they further agree that the undertaking to refer differences to 
arbitration shall include all differences which may arise be- 
tween the high contracting parties, and not those only which 
arise on the interpretation of the treaty." 

And in a subsequent note, dated June i8, 1885, he said: 
" M. LE Ministre: I have the honor to acknowledge the 
receipt of your note of the 8th instant, forwarding the draft 
of a new treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation be- 
tween Great Britain and Venezuela, to replace the treaties of 
1825 and 1834, founded on the text of the treaty recently con- 
cluded between Great Britain and Paraguay, and on corre- 
spondence that has passed between us. . . . 

The clause in italics at the end of Article XV. would seem 
to render that article more explicit and to be useful for this 
purpose." 

To which General Guzman replied, on the 226. of June, 1885 • 

" My Lord: I have had the honor of receiving Your Ex- 
lency's dispatch of the i8th, accompanying a copy in print of 
a draft treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between 
the United States of Venezuela and Great Britain, with cer- 
tain corrections to which Your Excellency asks me to express 
my consent in order to avoid any misapprehension. 

I proceed accordingly to reply, that I see no objection to 
adding to Article XV. * the award of the arbitrators shall be 
carried out as speedily as possible in cases w^here such award 
does not specifically lay down a date.' " 

Shortly after, a change occurred in Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government, by virtue of which Lord Salisbury entered upon 
the duties of Chief Secretary of State at the Foreign Office, 
and so it was incumbent on him to finish the negotiation that 
Lord Granville had left close to its conclusion. 

On the 27th of July Lord Salisbury addressed a note to 
General Guzman stating, in regard to the clause on arbitration, 
which had already been accepted by Lord Granville, that — 

" Her Majesty's Government are unable to concur in the 



303 



assent given by their predecessors in office to the General Ar- 
bitration Article proposed by Venezuela, and they are unable 
to agree to the inclusion in it of matters other than those 
arising out of the interpretation or alleged violation of this 
particular treaty. To engage to refer to arbitration all dis- 
putes and controversies whatsoever would be without prece- 
dent in the treaties made by Great Britain. Questions might 
arise, such as those involving the title of the British Crown to 
territory or other sovereign rights, which Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment could not pledge themselves beforehand to refer to 
arbitration." 

He accordingly inclosed a printed copy of the draft treaty, 
wherein the said clause of Article XV. appeared thus 
amended : 

" If, as it is to be deprecated, there shall arise between the 
United States of Venezuela and Great Britain any contro- 
versies respecting the interpretation or the execution of the 
present treaty, or the consequence of any violation thereof, the 
two contracting parties agree " 

The Venezuelan negotiator gave the following response, 
which proved to be wholly ineffectual: 

"With respect to arbitration, it appears to me that the new 
Cabinet could not, by itself alone, repeal the article to which 
its predecessor had given formal assent, and thereby placed it 
beyond its competence, and still less so after Your Lordship's 
declaration in the House of Lords that an engagement of the 
previous Government would be respected. I should be pained 
to think that this declaration did not include Venezuela. 

" I think that boundary questions are of the number of those 
which it is most expedient to submit to the award of an im- 
partial third party. As is shown in practice, other nations are 
also of this opinion, and that the same view is also shared by 
Great Britain I think may be inferred from her action during 
1829 and during 1872, in agreeing to submit two controversies 
respecting territory to the decision of the King of Holland 
and of the Emperor of Germany, respectively. In the last 
case it proposed the arbitration no less than six times to the 



304 



United States, as they allege, and it was only the seventh 
time that they accepted this means of deciding whether or not 
the line should pass by the Haro Canal. It appears from the 
correspondence of the Venezuelan Plenipotentiary, Senor For- 
tique, that the same proposal was made to him orally for the 
termination of the dispute respecting Guiana. 

"In fine, arbitration, in addition to having been employed on 
various occasions by Great Britain, has been so favorably en- 
tertained in her Parliament, and by her statesmen, and in the 
public opinion of the United Kingdom, that its general adoption 
could not fail to merit applause. Moreover, I proceeded in 
this matter conformably with the Constitution of Venezuela, 
which requires the Executive to stipulate for arbitration in 
comprehensive terms and without any restriction." 

Lord Salisbury confined his answer to an expression of re- 
gret that the instructions communicated to General Guzman 
did not allow him to agree to the restricted form of the article 
on arbitration, requesting at the same time that the points on 
which differences had arisen should be referred for modifica- 
tion to the Government of the Republic. General Guzman 
had done so more than a month previously, and the Govern- 
ment in reply confirmed his original instructions and approved 
his action in the fulfillment of the same. He addressed him- 
self again to Lord Salisbury and invoked the arguments he 
had repeatedly presented before, proving that the clause on 
arbitration applicable to all kinds of disagreements was already 
a right acquired by Venezuela, which Great Britain was bound 
to respect. His representations, however, were utterly fruitless. 

On the 19th of July, 1886, the day of his return to Vene- 
zuela being then near, he ventured to write again to Lord 
Rosebery, Lord Salisbury's successor, manifesting his natural 
desire not to quit the country without settling the questions he 
had been negotiating ever since his arrival in London, by the 
middle of 1884. On the 20th of the same month, Lord Rose- 
bery replied : 

*' I am anxious to profit by your permanence in Europe for 
the purpose of making every effort to come to an understand- 



305 



ing with you about the questions which are matter of dispute 
between our respective countries, and in conformity with the 
offer I made in my note of the 23d of last month. I send you 
now a memorandum of the bases according to which I should 
be disposed to enter into negotiations. " 

" I. Boundary. 
" It is proposed that the two Governments shall agree upon 
considering as territory disputed between the two countries 
the land situated between the two boundary lines indicated, 
respectively, in the eighth paragraph of Senor Rojas's note of 
February 21st, 1881, and Lord Gransville's note of September 
15th, 1881, and to draw a dividing line within the Hmits of 
this territory, either by arbitration or by a mixed commission,, 
on the principle of equal division of said territory, and in due 
regard to natural boundaries. The Government of Her Ma- 
jesty give especial importance to the possession of the River 
Guaima by British Guiana, and wish, therefore, to make the 
stipulation that the boundary line is to begin at the coast point, 
and a proper compensation to be found in any other part of 
the disputed territory for this deviation from the principle of 
equal division. In connection with the boundary there shall 
be considered the cession of the Island of Patos to Vene- 
zuela. 

" The River Orinoco shall be entirely free to commerce 
and navigation. 

" II. Treaty of Commerce. 

" It will likewise be convenient to add in the treaty the 
clause * by arbitration ' proposed by Venezuela, limited to those 
differences that may arise after the treaty is signed, with ex- 
clusion of the questions of the boundary and the Island of 
Patos, which the Government of Her Majesty is ready to con- 
sider separately in the manner indicated before. 

" III. Differential Duties." 



The distribution of the bases set forth in the foregoing 



306 



memorandum shows that Lord Rosebery again considered 
separately the three parts of the negotiation, in order to apply 
to each a different method, and that as regards arbitration, he 
only accepted it on condition that it was restricted, in the 
treaty of commerce, to the ordinary prescriptions of such 
treaties, and, in the controversy on boundaries, to the new di- 
vision of the territory in dispute proposed by himself. He 
thus rather lessened the probability of soon reaching the 
longed-for end of the question, since, according to the consti- 
tution of V^enezuela, the clause on general arbitration was a 
necesssry provision embracing all treaties of amity, com- 
merce, and navigation, as w^ell as the settlement of the bound- 
ary question : and so it was explained at length by General 
Guzman in the memorandum w^hich, in turn, he sent to Lord 
Rosebery, in conjunction with his communication of July 29th, 
1886. And if it be stated that the present proposal was more 
unfavorable than others already rejected by Venezuela, it will 
be acknowledged that she was justified in disregarding it, as 
she did. Thus ended the third negotiation so eagerly solic- 
ited by Great Britain and willingly met by Venezuela. 

Furthermore, w^hen the two Governments sought in London 
to adjust their contention in peace and amity, British oflScers, 
both civil and naval, commissioned by the Governor c>f British 
Guiana, appeared at the mouih of the Orinoco river, on 
board the steamship Lady Langden. " They sailed up 
stream without a pilot, the Venezuelan authorities having de- 
clined to give them one : they made incursions into places that 
had always belonged to Venezuela ; they planted posts, fixed 
placards, declaring British laws in vigor, appointed officers of 
their own nationality as substitutes for those of the Republic 
or endeavored to allure them into their service, and finally 
took one of them away under pretext that he had illtreated a 
Portuguese subject, and caused him to be tried and punished 
by a court of justice at Demerara. 

The placards read thus : 

" Government Notice. * 

" Notice is hereby given that any persons infringing the 



307 



s-ight of Her Majesty, or acting in contravention of the laws of 
British Guiana, will be prosecuted according to law. 
" By command, 

** Francis Villiers, 
"Acting Government Secretary. 
" Georgetown, Demerara, &c. 

One Mr. Michael McTurk, entitling himself acting special 
Magistrate and Superintendent of the Crown-lands and forests 
in the Pomaron district, had been at Amacuro, Barima, Mora- 
juana, and Guaima. He had posted similar announcements, 
in English, at the principal places along these rivers, which he 
had revisited on different occasions, in performance of his 
«duties as Magistrate in charge of the District whereof they 
■were parts. 

In September, 1883, the Executive of Venezuela had con- 
cluded a treaty, approved by Congress in May, 1884, granting 
to Mr. Cyrinius C. Fitzgerald (Manoa Company) the exclusive 
iright to colonize with such national lands as were included 
within a tract which, on the side of the Orinoco river, ex- 
pended as far as the boundary line with British Guiana, along 
,the mountains of Imataca, and there to develop agriculture and 
cattle-breeding as well as any resource contained in the soil. 
Now, the acting Governor Secretary of Demerara had written 
to Mr. Fitzgerald, on the 25th of October, 1884, what I here 
transcribe : 

" I am directed by His Excellency, the Governor of British 
•Guiana, to acknowledge receipt of your three letters noted in 
(the margin with reference and transmitting documents respect- 
ing the Manoa Company and the concession made by the Yen- 
^uelan Government, and to convey to you the expression of 
His Excellency's thanks for the information and the documents 
rsupplied. 

" With regard to the British Guiana boundary, I am di- 
rected by His Excellency to intimate to you that the Colonial 
Government exercises authority and jurisdiction within the 
limits laid down in the accompanying map, starting from the 
right bank of the Amacuro river, and that within these limits 



308 



the Colonial Government enforce the law of British Guiana. 

" I am further to intimate to you that any person disregard- 
ing or acting in contravention of the laws of British Guiana 
within these limits will be liable to be prosecuted according to- 
the laws of the Colony. 

" The w^hole of the territory therefore between the Amacuro 
and Moruca rivers is part of the Colony of British Guiana^ 
and the Colonial Government will maintain jurisdiction over 
this territory and prevent the rights of Her Majesty or of the 
inhabitants of the Colony being in any way infringed. " 

And in two letters, dated November 22d, 1884, the afore- 
said Mr. McTurk had declared to Senor Tomas A. Kelly^ 
Administrator and President of the Manoa Company, who pur- 
posed to set up a sawing-machine at the mouth of the Barima 
river : 

" I deem it my duty as the officer now in charge of the Pom- 
eroon river judicial district, and which district extends to the 
limits of the Colony on its Venezuelan or western side, to 
notify you that the Barima river is in the county of Essequiba 
and Colony of British Guiana, and forms parts of the judicial 
district, over which I exercise jurisdiction. 

" No settlements of any kind, whether for the purpose of 
trade or any other purposes, can be made within the limits of 
the Colony unless in accordance with its existing laws, and 
those that may become resident therein will be required to 
obey them." 

"I have the honor to inform you that you are now within 
the limits of the Colony of British Guiana and those of the 
district under my jurisdiction, as one of the special magistrates 
and Superintendent of Crown-lands and forests of this Colony^ 
and therefore you are outside your jurisdiction as a function- 
ary of Venezuela. . . . Whatever notification you should 
make to the inhabitants will be void, and all persons residing 
in this or any part of this Colony, or visiting it, will have to 
conduct themselves in accordance with its laws. I must like- 
wise call your attention to the notifications put upon trees on 



309 



the banks of this river, as also on the Rivers Waini and Bar- 
ima. These notifications were fixed where they are by order 
of the Government of British Guiana." 

The British Legation at Caracas had, on its part, made 
similar warnings with regard to the Manoa Company. They 
were, however, more deferent to the rights of Venezuela, as 
shown in the note it addressed to the Department of Foreign 
Affairs on the 8th of January, 1885: 

"In a dispatch dated London the 28th of November, I am 
directed by Her Majesty's Government to attract the attention 
of that of Venezuela to the proceedings of the agents of the 
Manoa Company in certain districts, the sovereignty of which 
is equally claimed by Her Majesty's Government and that of 
Venezuela. 

" Earl Granville further instructed me to request the Ven- 
ezuelan Government to take steps to prevent the agents of the 
Manoa Company or of Mr. H. Gordon, who has also a con- 
cession for colonization from the Venezuelan Government, 
from asserting claims to or interfering with any of the terri- 
tory claimed by Great Britain. 

"Her Majesty's Government, in the event of that of Vene- 
:zuela declining to move in this matter, would, to their great 
regret, feel themselves under the necessity of adopting meas- 
ures for preventing the encroachment of the Manoa Company, 
and the Governor of British Guiana would even be instructed 
to employ an adequate police force for the prevention of such 
encroachment and maintenance of order. 

" Lord Granville goes on to inform me, however, that no 
steps will be taken by the Governor of British Guiana pending 
this reference to the Venezuelan Government. 

" I need hardly remind Your Excellency that the question 
of the boundary of British Guiana is one of long standing, and 
that communications upon the subject are at the present mo- 
ment taking place between Her Majesty's Government and 
the Venezuelan Minister in London, and it is therefore all the 
more important that incidents calculated to cause grave incon- 
venience should be prevented. The territories, irrespective 



310 



of those disputed by Venezuela and Great Britain, conceded to 
the Manoa Company are enormous in extent; but without en- 
tering into that portion of the question, I feel certain that his 
Excellency, the President of the Republic, will duly appreciate 
the immense importance of obviating the possibility of any col- 
lision between the agents of that company and the British au- 
thorities in the territories the sovereignty of which is still a 
disputed question." 

Posts had been set up along the eastern bank of the Ama- 
curo river and on other spots as far back as the iith of Oc- 
tober, 1884, in pursuance of orders issued by the Governor of 
British Guiana, but Her Majesty's Minister did not give any 
notice of the fact to the Minister of Foreign Relations until 
the 26th of January, 1885, when the Venezuelan authorities in 
Guiana had already ordered their removal in evidence that 
Venezuela did not acquiesce to their significance of British 
dominion. 

A like occurrence had taken place in regard to the pledge 
he gave in his note of January 8th, 1885, that the Governor of 
British Guiana would take no action against the proceedings 
of the Manoa Company or of Mr. W. Gordon's agents, so 
long as the petition he addressed to the Venezuelan Govern- 
ment in the same note remain undecided. Indeed, when he 
offered the above assurance, the measures of the British Gov- 
ernment to which he adverted had been already executed. 

The British Legation had also notified the Government, on 
the 26th of the same month, that the Governor of British Gu- 
iana had been instructed to send Mr. McTurk^ Stipendiary 
Magistrate, to the eastern bank of the Amacuro river, with 
the purpose of investigating the conduct of the Manoa Com- 
pany and especially that of Mr. Roberto Wells, Civil Commis- 
sary of Delta Territory, and others. Coincident with this ad- 
vice, a Commission of EngHsh officers had entered the Ama- 
curo and had carried away the Venezuelan Commissary under 
arrest. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela had main- 
tained that, according to the contract with the Manoa Com- 



311 



pany, the words ^'as far as British Guiana," did not purport 
that the bounds of the concession reached beyond the territory 
in dispute. It had expressed to the Minister of Great Britain 
its deep surprise on receiving intelligence of the events of 
Amacuro, and had finally urged the adoption of such measures 
as might retrieve those proceedings and bring matters back to 
the extant status quo, according to which neither nation could 
exercise jurisdiction over any portion of the territory in con- 
test. 

In the note he addressed in London to Lord Rosebery, dated 
the 28th of July, 1886, General Guzmaz Blanco earnestly pro- 
pounded, in the name of his Government, the just complaints 
of the Republic for the successive recent violations of the na- 
tional territory and acts against Venezuelan jurisdiction that 
had been committed. He closed his note with the foUowino- 
demands : 

1. Removal of all the marks of sovereignty that had been 
placed on the disputed lands by direction of the Governor of 
British Guiana. 

2. Recall of the officers and public forces that might have 
been posted on those lands. 

3. Satisfactory explanations concerning the non-fulfillment 
of the convention proposed to Venezuela by Great Britain and 
concerning the violation of the laws of the Republic in regard 
to ports not open to foreign vessels. 

4. Annulment of the action brought against Mr. Roberto 
Wells, his liberty and indemnification for the damages that 
had been caused him by his arrest, imprisonment, trial, and 
punishment for imputation of an offence committed in Vene- 
zuelan territory. 

5. Complete restoration of affairs to their State in 1850, 
date of the aforesaid agreement, and strict orders to the Gov- 
ernor of British Guiana, enjoining the careful observance of it 
pending the settlement of the boundary question by the two 
Governments. 

Great Britain not having done anything towards giving sat- 
isfaction to Venezuela, the Minister of Foreign Affairs wrote 



312 



to Mr. F. R. Saint John, Her Britannic Majesty's Resident 
Minister, a note dated at Caracas, the 7th of December, 1886, 
to the following tenor : 

"In accordance with the order of the President of the Re- 
public, as the result of the Conference we held with him yes- 
terday, 1 have the honor of addressing Your Excellency and 
stating in substance what he then expressed. 

" He said that his attention had been seriously called to the 
grave character of the inteUigence received as to occurrences 
taking place, it is affirmed, in Guiana in regard to its boundary 
with British Guiana. He remembered the agreement con- 
cluded in 1850 by an interchange of notes between the two 
Governments on a spontaneous proposal of the British Gov- 
ernment, and upon the ground of information sent from Ciudad 
Bolivar by Vice-Consul Mathison to Mr. Wilson, Charge 
d'Affaires at Caracas, respecting the transmission of orders to 
the authorities of the province of Guiana to put the same in a 
state of defence and to repair and arm the dismantled forts, 
and the language used by Governor Jose Tomas Machado as 
to the erection of a fort at the Barima Point; and on account 
also of a rumor spread to the effect that Great Britain intended 
to claim the province of Venezuelan Guiana. Besides giving 
it the lie by affirming that not only was it destitute of any 
foundation, but also that it was precisely the reverse of the 
truth, Mr. Wilson declared, in the name of his Government, 
that the latter had no intention to occupy or encroach upon 
the territory in dispute, and that they would not ordain or 
sanction such occupation or encroachments on the part of 
British authorities. At the same time he requested and ob- 
tained from the Government of the Republic analogous dec- 
clarations. She has kept such an agreement by preserving 
the status quo, while Great Britain has infringed it since. Be- 
sides the acts of jurisdiction consummated from 1884, it has 
been ascertained that she has just now in the channels formed 
by the rivers Amacuro and Barima, about which there has 
been no question before, a commissary provided with two ves- 
sels containing arms and policemen, who levies taxes and pro- 



313 

ihibits persons going there on mercantile business from carry- 
ing out their operations; that she has had built a Government 
house on which the British flag has been and is constantly 
hoisted; that a church and school-houses are being constructed; 
that in October last a small war steamer was there; that a 
revenue-cutter often runs on the track between Amacuro and 
Barima, and that they have begun to form on the same spot 
an agricultural Colony. 

Even in the denied assumption that those places were a 
part of the disputed territory, Great Britain might not have 
occupied them without violating the above compact. And 
if, in spite of everything, she occupies them, with still greater 
reason they should be reoccupied by Venezuela, relieved as 
she is from any obligation on the ground of its infraction by the 
other contracting party, and being, as she is, fully conscious of 
her undebatable right of property. 

" The President said likewise that the concessions to the 
Manoa Company could not have given to Great Britain a just 
ground of complaint as, according to their unequivocal terms, 
they only extended as far as * British Guiana '; that is to say, 
as far as points not contentious, and, moreover, that the con- 
tract on the subject had expired. 

" On the above statement, and on the strength of an appli- 
cation made by the British Legation, with the utmost instancy, 
in an official note to this ministry, on May 26th, 1836, for the 
erection of a beacon at the Barima Point, thus recognizing 
motu propria the incontestable sovereignty of Venezuela over 
the same, the President added that he was going to send there 
an engineer instructed to erect the beacon, and new officers to 
exercise authority for the Republic in said place and in those 
lying between the rivers Barima and Amacuro, and to notify 
to the foreign occupants their withdrawal from them. And 
he ended by saying that if the Government of Her Britannic 
Majesty would occupy such a point as Barima, the possession 
of which would render them joint proprietors of the Orinoco, 
and decide in this manner by themselves and in their favor 
this, for Venezuela, the most grave question, wresting from 



314 



her by force the exclusive domain of that river and presenting, 
thus to her an indubitable casus belli, he should be compelled^ 
by the requirements of patriotism and by his high duties as 
the guardian of the territorial integrity of Venezuela, to break 
up the relations between the tw^o countries. 

" The President has instructed me to w^rite this note in order 
that Your Excellency may communicate to me the informa- 
tion and antecedents you may know of in regard to so unheard 
of and almost incredible occurrences. 

Mr. Saint John replied that, since the President, before re- 
sorting to the occupancy of a portion of the disputed territory,, 
had refused to await the result of the notification of his pur- 
pose to the British Government, he did not see what could be 
gained by assenting to his petition or by persevering in the 
discussion. In order to avoid error, however, he w^ould re- 
mark in connection with two of the points treated in the com- 
munication of the Minister of Foreign Relations, that, in the 
first place, the territory between the Barima and Amacuro 
rivers, which, according to the assertion contained in that 
communication, was only now claimed by Her British Majesty's 
Government, had been already mentioned in Lord Aberdeen's 
note to Mr. Fortique, dated the 30th of May, 1844, as a part 
of British Guiana; secondly, that the petition addressed to the 
Venezuelan Government on the 26th of May, 1836, by the 
British Agent at Caracas, respecting the erection of a light- 
house at Punta Barima, had been made without the knowledge 
or authorization of the British Government, to whom the 
Agent did not even notify such petition; and ultimately, that 
the doctrine assuming that every act or word of a diplomatic 
agent binds his Government is utterly incompatible Wiih. inter- 
national law, it being perfectly recognized that not even a 
formal treaty concluded and signed by a plenipotentiary is 
valid unless it be duly ratified by his Government." 

In reference to the two points in question the minister of 
Foreign Relations replied, on the 8th of January, 1887, in this 
manner: 

" Venezuela has never admitted, neither will she ever ad- 



315 



mit, that Dutch Guiana bounds upon the Orinoco; and this is- 
proved by the text of the note with which Senor Fortique 
opened the negotiation on Hmits, by the previous ones in which 
he demanded the removal of the flags, posts, and marks placed 
atBarima and other places by Engineer Schomburgk in 1841,. 
and by the conferences he held on the subject with their Ex- 
cellencies, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of the Colo- 
nies. It was precisely the placing of these marks of foreign- 
dominion at the places mentioned, to which Great Britain had 
no right, that created such a sensation in Venezuela, and 
caused the sending of Messrs. Lie. Jose Santiago Rodriguez 
and Juan Jose Romero to Demerara, in the character of com- 
missioners, to demand an explanation of those surprising facts. 
In a note dated the irth of December, 1841, Lord Aberdeen 
wrote to Senor Fortique that the marks had been placed as a 
means of preparation by his Government for the discussion of 
the boundary question with the Government of Venezuela ; 
that they were placed precisely with this object and not, as 
Venezuela seemed to fear, with th^ intention of indicating 
dominion or empire on the part of Great Britain. Lord 
Aberdeen added that he had learned with pleasure that the 
two commissioners sent by the Republic had been able to as- 
certain, through the information given them by the Governor 
of said Colony, that Point Barima had not been occupied by 
the English authorities. 

"The usurpations which Spain made legal by the Miinster 
Treaty were those concerning the Colonies of Essequibo, Deme- 
rara, Berbice, and Surinam, and were afterwards confirmed by 
the extradition treaty made at Aranjuez, in which your Ex- 
cellency may see that the Dutch Colonies of Essequibo, Deme- 
rara, Berbice, and Surinam, together with Curacoa, and Saint 
Eustace, are mentioned in juxtaposition with the Spanish Colo- 
nies of the Orinoco, Coro, and Porto Rico. Of these Colonies 
the Netherlands transferred to His Britannic Majesty by the 
London Treaty of the 13th of August, 1814, those of Esse- 
quibo, Demerara, and Berbice. Whence comes, then, the 
right of England over the Spanish Colonies of the Orinoco? 



316 



"The second remark made by your Excellency is to the 
• effect that the British agent in Caracas, that is, Sir Robert 
Ker Porter, who in 1836, was the Charge d' Affaires in this 
Republic, requested from this Government the erection of a 
lighthouse at Point Barima, without the knowledge or the 
consent of his Government; and your Excellency adds, quot- 
ing a note from the British Legation to this department, dated 
on the 26th of September, 185 1, that the doctrine that all acts 
or words of a diplomatic agent bind his Government, is in- 
compatible with international law, it being a well known fact 
that not even a treaty made by a plenipotentiary is valid unless 
ratified by his Government. 

"On these points the President has instructed me to state 
that the Government of Venezuela cannot admit that after the 
long period of fifty years has elapsed since the date of Sir 
Robert's communication, the British Government having been 
informed by him or his successors of the step he took, should 
not have apprised that of Venezuela of the lack of authoriza- 
tion which your Excellency, on account of what has happened, 
communicates to-day for the first time, after fifty 3^ears have 
elapsed, and which nothing could make this Government pre- 
sume upon." 

The correspondence passed between the Minister of For- 
eign Affairs and the British Legation at Caracas, of which the 
preceding extracts have been offered, was sent to the Depart- 
ment of State by Sr. J. A. Olavvaria, in two pamphlets printed 
in English, along with his notes of May 4th and 21st, 1887. 
It closed with the rupture of diplomatic relations between 
Venezuela and Great Britain, on the 20th of February of the 
same 3-ear. 

The report of the Commission sent to the Orinoco in 1886, 
by the Venezuelan Government, had confirmed all the previ- 
ous advices regarding the extensive occupation of territory 
and acts of sovereignty that Great Britain had accomplished 
in Gaiana in detriment of the rights of Venezuela, while the 
two nations were negotiating in Europe a treaty of amity, in- 



317 



eluding a clause of arbitration, for the settlement of their boun- 
dary controversy. 

In reply to the note of January 5th, 1887, to which the 
Venezuelan Consul at Demerara annexed another from the 
members of the aforesaid Commission, stating the object of 
their visit to British Guiana, the Government of the Colonv 
had referred to the notice published in the London Gazette,. 
under date of 21st of October, 1886, and had manifested that 
the Districts mentioned in the official communication of the 
Venezuelan Commissioners were comprised within the bounds 
which that notice established, and formed part of the Colony of 
British Guiana. In fact, the notice, which Mr. Charles Bruce, 
Secretary of the Government of Demerara, certified to have 
been copied from the London Gazette of October 21, 1886,. 
runs thus: 

"Colonial Office, Downing Street. 

October 21, 1886. 

"Whereas, The boundary line between Her Majesty's C0I-- 
ony of British Guiana and the Republic of Venezuela is in dis- 
pute between Her Majesty's Government and the Government 
of Venezuela; and whereas, it has come to the knowledge of 
Her Majesty's Government that grants of land within the terri- 
tory claimed by Her Majesty's Government, as part of the said 
colony, have been made or purport to have been made, by or in 
the name of the Government of Venezuela, notice is hereby 
given that no title to land, or to any right in or over or affect- 
ing any land, within the terrritory claimed by Her Majesty's 
Government as forming part of the colony of British Guiana,, 
purporting to be derived from or through the Government of 
Venezuela, or any office or person authorized by that Govern- 
ment, will be admitted or recognized by Her Majesty or by 
the Government of British Guiana, and that any person taking 
possession of or exercising any right over any such land under 
color of any such title or pretended title will be liable to be 
treated as a trespasser under the laws of the said colony. 

" A map showing the boundary between British Guiana. 
"^nd Venezuela, claimed by Her Majesty's Government, can* 



318 



1)e seen in the library of the Colonial Office, Downing Street, 
•or at the office of the Government Secretary, Georgetown, 
British Guiana." 

Of course the boundary laid down in that map was not the 
Essequibo river, which Venezuela, supported by the treaties 
of Miinster (1648), Aranjuez (1791), London (1814), and 
Madrid (1845), had always claimed to be the eastern line 
dividing her from British Guiana. 

Neither was it the Pomeron River, which Great Britain 
had adopted niotu projmo until 1844; 

Nor the Moroco, proposed by Lord Aberdeen in 1844; 

Nor Lord Granville's line, in 188 1, which started 29 miles 
east of the eastern bank of the Barima River; 

Nor Lord Rosebery's, in 1886, beginning on the coast, west 
of the Guaima river. 

It was nothing short of the limit capriciously indicated by 
Engineer Schomburgk, in 1841, which Lord Aberdeen had 
then considered to be exaggerated and of mere convenience 
so far as the Cuyuni river was concerned, its marks having 
been removed by order of Her Britannic Majesty's Govern- 
ment by way of satisfaction to the complaints of Venezuela. 

The same limit that Great Britain and Venezuela, by the 
agreement of 1850, had mutually engaged not to occupy or 
encroach upon, nor to allow it to be occupied or encroached 
upon by their respective authorities. 

The same referred to in the Report No. 2 of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture of the United States for the year 1892 
(Report on the Agriculture of South America, with maps 
and latest statistics of trade), in the following terms: 

"It ought to be noted, perhaps, that the British authority, 
"known as The Statesman's Year Book for 1885, gives the 
.area of British Guiana, bounding Venezuela on the east, as 
76,000, end that the same annual for 1886 gives the area as 
109,000 square miles, an increase during the year of 33,000 
square miles to European possessions in America, and an 
•equal loss to the Republic of Venezuela, so far unaccounted 
for by treaty or recognized conquest, and claimed by the latter 



319 



country to be against her hitherto unbroken and undisputed 
right of possession acknowledged in the treaty of Miinster, 
1648, the definitive treaty of Aranjuez, 1791, and the treaty of 
London, 1814, which conferred what is now British Guiana 
upon Great Britain with the Essequibo as its permanent west- 
ern boundary." 

With a view to include that increase of 33,000 square miles 
within the bounds of British Guiana, the Court of Policy had 
sanctioned a new territorial division, in July, 1886, reforming 
that of 186S in vigor until then. The act reads thus: 

"Registration division No. i, to compromise the settlements 
on the Moruca, Waini, and Barima rivers, and their tributa- 
ries, the right bank of the Amacuro river and its tributaries 
on that bank, and all the country lying between the above- 
named rivers and as far back as the limits of the colony ex- 
tend." 

According to the ordinance of 1868, the legal boundary of 
the Colony, ever since the beginning of the controversy in 
1 841, did not extend beyond the Pomaron river. 

The country inclosed between the Pomaron and Barima 
rivers and Punta Barima was the principal object of the dis- 
pute between the two States. Neither could take possession 
of it or occupy it so long as the difficulty subsisted, especially 
so Great Britain, after the agreement of 1850, which she had 
proposed herself. Nevertheless, she had gradually occupied 
the whole territory and had subjected it to her exclusive do- 
main, by reason of its being under litigation, at the same time 
that in London she baffled the expectations of Venezuela and 
her exertions to bring about the final arrangement of the 
question by arbitration. She had twice declined to evacuate 
the land and retire back to the Pomaron. 

Offended at the double refusal of Great Britain to submit 
the difference to arbitrament, Venezuela, deprived by her 
material weakness of every immediate and efficient means of 
obtaining justice, determined, as before said, to suspend her 
diplomatic relations with Great Britain and " to protest be- 
fore Her British Majesty's Government, before all civilized 



320 



nations, and before the world in general, against the acts of 
spoliation committed to her detriment by the Government of 
Great Britain, which she at no time and on no account will 
recognize as capable of altering in the least the rights which 
she has inherited from Spain, and respecting which she will 
ever be willing to submit to the decision of a third power." 

General Guzman Blanco, the last negotiator for the Repub- 
lic in England, had been again elected to the Presidency of 
Venezuela. In order to close this period of the controversy. 
I present here the account of General Guzman's mission and 
of the subsequent acts of the Government he headed, until 
the relations with Great Britain were severed, as given in his 
Message to Congress in 18S7: 

The Guiana boundary question has taken so grave a 
turn that it is with deep regret that I must speak to you 
about our relations with Great Britain. 

" While in London in the character of Minister of Vene- 
zuela, I discussed our three questions with Her British Majes- 
ty's Government, namely, diplomatic claims, differential duties 
relating to the British Antilles and the Guiana boundaries. 

" It may be said that the first one was finally settled; as for 
the other two, they were included in a project of a new 
treaty in substitution for the present one, which has been 
extant 58 years, because of the inconceivable interpretation 
of perpetuity imposed upon us by England, under color that 
no date was established in it for its expiration. 

" After a year's discussion, the project of a new treaty was 
agreed upon with Lord Granville, then Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. The taxes on the British West Indies were made equal 
to those of the metropolis; arbitration was accepted by both par- 
ties as the only means of settling such questions as could not 
be adjusted by common accord, and a period of ten years was 
fixed, after w^hich it would rest with each of the parties to 
denounce the treaty. 

" This, however, w'as not signed, as the clause of the most 
favored nation was required from us in an absolute way, and 
Venezuela could enter into no engagement with other ends or 



321 



on other terms than those stipulated with the other friendly 
Nations. 

" This difference might have been easily surmounted, for 
England maintained the same pretension respecting the United 
-States of America, and finally withdrew it because the latter 
Nation alleged the same reasons that we have alleged." 

" So, then, the Treaty with Great Britain was well-nigh 
being signed, when Lord Salisbury's Ministry came into office 
and categorically decHned to conclude the negotiation on 
the same terms on which it had been conducted by his 
predecessor, notwithstanding my remark that in the question 
between Afghanistan and Russia the agreement negotiated by 
his predecessor had been signed, and that the Marquis of 
Salisbury himself had just said in Parliament that he had 
signed it because it was unworth}^ of a serious Government to 
retract their word when once given; which afforded me the 
opportunity to maintain that, the case with the negotiation of 
Venezuela being the same as that of Russia, we had a right to 
be treated in the same way, unless Great Britain applied one 
jurisprudence to Russia and a different one to Venezuela, of 
which I should much regret to notify my Government. 

" The last month of my delay in Europe was due to the 
circumstance that the Minister, Lord Rosebery, requested a 
last effort on my part in order to settle in two or three more 
weeks this important negotiation. The time having expired 
without any fruit, because the Minister did not accept the 
arbitrament and demanded the Guaima river, tributary to the 
Orinoco, I took my leave in a note, wherein it was stated, in sub- 
stance, that Venezuela had accredited me with the most ample 
powers to bring the three questions at issue to a definitive , 
€nd; that the question concerning the course to be followed 
for the payment of the diplomatic claims being almost settled, 
the other two were comprehended in the new Treaty intended 
to replace the present one, no longer possible after fifty-eight 
years of existence, in which the period of its duration was not 
determined, according to the same treaty; that unfortunately 
during the two years elapsed no adjustment could be reached 



322 



in regard to the treaty solving the difficulty of the differential 
duties on the British West Indies and that of the Guiana 
boundaries, the latter to be decided by arbitration, the only 
available means for Venezuela, since our Constitution prohibits 
the alienation of territory and establishes our limit on the 
Essequibo river, which was the one held by Spain, whose 
territorial rights Venezuela inherited; and that, it being neces- 
sary to entrust the discussion of the question to a man thor- 
oughly familiar with the voluminous archives embracing it, the 
study of which requires a long time, and it having been agreed 
moreover, that the three questions at issue should be resolved, it 
was urgent to suspend for the present time the negotiations 
which had occupied our attention. 

" Instead of replying to this note, the British Government,, 
doubtlessly because they were told that our boundary reached 
as far as the Essequibo, has discontinued the discussion and,, 
by decree, has taken possession of and occupied the territory,, 
not only along the Pomaron^ but as far as Punta Barima and 
Amacuro, thus dispossessing us of the exclusive dominion over 
the Orinoco, the great artery on the north of the Continent^ 
the Mississippi river of South America . 

"In view of this condition of affairs, what could I do ? 
Could I inform the Congress of my country that a foreign 
power had occupied part of our territory, without adding that 
I had protested in the name of the Nation and severed diplo- 
matic relations with a Government that acts in such a way 
towards us ? 

"On the 26th of January of the present year, I demanded 
the evacuation of the territory as far as the Pomaron river. 

"On the 3 [St of January, Her Britannic Majesty's Minister 
sent his reply confirming the occupancy to a certain extent. 

"I answered him under the same date, that contrary to the 
agreement of the i8th of November, 1850, establishing that 
neither Venezuela nor Great Britain should exercise jurisdic- 
tion over the country lying west of the Pomaron river, England 
had occupied the said territory and its rivers as far as the 
mouth of the Orinoco, thus infringing the agreement and com- 



323 



pleting the despoliation; and that, in consequence thereof, 
Venezuela would discontinue her diplomatic relations with 
Great Britain and raise a most solemn protest against so 
grievous a despoliation, if the state of affairs was not brought 
back to what it was in 1850, before the date for the constitu^ 
tional meeting of Congress, or if the submission to arbitration of 
the Guiana boundary question was not assented to, in accord- 
ance with our Constitution, and with the sound criterion of 
civilized people. 

" This was done on the 21st of last month, at 4 o'clock p. m., 
but Her Britannic Majesty's Minister has not yet asked for 
his passport. 

" At any rate, honor is at stake and its fate will be that of 
the Nation." 

Anticipating the impending rupture between Venezuela 
and Great Britain, the Hon. Mr. Bayard, desirous to avert it, 
had offered the British Government in December, 1886, the 
co-operation of the United States, as arbiters for the adjust- 
ment of the difference. 

" It does not appear," said the Honorable Secretary of State 
on that occasion, " that at any time heretofore the good offices 
of this Government have been actually tendered to avert a 
rupture between Great Britain and Venezuela. As intimated 
in my No. 58, our inaction in this regard would seem to be due 
to the reluctance of Venezuela to have the Government of the 
United States take any steps having relation to the action of 
the British Government which might, in appearance even, 
prejudice the resort to our arbitration or mediation, which 
Venezuela desired. Nevertheless, the records abundantly 
testify our friendly concern in the adjustment of the dispute; 
and the intelligence now received warrants me in tendering, 
through you, to Her Majesty's Government, the good offices 
of the United States to promote an amicable settlement of 
the respective claims of Great Britain and Venezuela in the 
premises. As proof of the impartiality with which we view 
the question, we offer our arbitration, if acceptable, to both 



324 



countries. We do this with the less hesitancy as the dispute 
turns upon simple and readily ascertainable historical facts. 

*' Her Majesty's Government will readily understand that 
this attitude of friendly neutrahty and entire impartiality 
touching the merits of the controversy, consisting wholly in a 
difference of facts between our friends and neighbors, is en- 
tirelv consistent and compatible with the sense of responsi- 
bility that rests upon the United States in relation to the South 
American Republics. The doctrines we announced t*vo gen- 
erations ago, at the instance and with the cordial support and 
approval of the British Government, have lost none of their 
force or importance in the progress of time, and the Govern- 
ments of Great Britain and the United States are equally 
interested in conservinc/ a status the wisdom of which has 
been demonstrated by the experience of more than half a 
century. 

" It is proper, therefore, that you should convey to Lord 
Iddesleigh, in such sufficiently guarded terms as your discre- 
tion may dictate, the satisfaction that would be felt b}^ the 
Government of the United States in perceiving that its wishes 
in this regard were permitted to have influence with Her Maj- 
esty's Government." (The Hon. Mr. Bayard to Mr. Phelps. 
Confidential. 30th of December, 1886.) 

England declined the offer on the following grounds: 

"Her Majesty's Government fully appreciates the friendly 
feelings which have prompted your Government to offer their 
mediation in this matter. 

" The attitude, however, which General Gruzman Blanco has 
now taken up in regard to the questions at issue precludes 
Her Majesty's Government from submitting those questions at 
the present moment to the arbitration of any third power. 

"An offer to mediate in the questions at issue between this 
country and Venezuela has already been received by Her 
Majesty's Government from another quarter, and has been 
declined on the same grounds. 

" I beg that you will convey to the Secretary of State the 
cordial thanks of the Queen's Government for your communi- 



325 



cation, and that you will inform him that they have not yet 
abandoned all hope of a settlement by direct diplomatic nego- 
tiations with Venezuela." (Lord Salisbury to Mr. Phelps. 
22d of February, 1887.) 

On the nth of March the Times of London pubHshed an 
abstract of the Report of Parliamentary Papers of the pre- 
ceding day, relating to the suspension of relations with Vene- 
zuela. It said: 

^*Mr. Stavely Hill asked the Under Secretary of State for 
Foreign Affairs whether, considering the increasing impor- 
tance of the subject and the breach of diplomatic relations be- 
tween this country and Venezuela, Her Majesty's Government 
would consider the advisability of sending a commission to 
settle the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela. 

" Sir J. Fergusson: Her Majesty s Government have every 
wish to arrive at a settlement of the boundary question, but no 
such steps as that suggested can be taken so long as the Ven- 
ezuelan Government maintains the suspension of diplomatic 
relations with this country." 

His mission in Venezuela being now at an end, the British 
Minister sailed, with his family, from La Guayra for Trinidad, 
on the 14th of March. Great Britain remained in possession 
of the contested territory as far as the mouth of the Orinoco 
River. She had declined the mediation of the United States 
and that of another power, and the offices of the former, as 
arbiters, for the settlement of the controversy, when she still 
held amicable relations with Venezuela, and now she refused 
to take the steps pursuant to an agreement because of the 
cessation of those relations by the action of Venezuela. 

Certain British men-of-war, which, since the latter part of 
February, had been permanently seen in the Gulf of Paria, 
withdrew also from the Venezuelan coast in the subsequent 
month of June, while the Governor of Demerara declared be- 
fore the Colonial Assembly that England would not guarantee 
any protection or compensation in case the boundary question 
should be decided in favor of Venezuela. This, together with 
the news in circulation that one Mr. Hill would soon arrive at 



326 



Caracas, in the capacity of a Commissioner, for the purpose of 
discussinor the matter, created the belief that Great Britain had 
quitted her former position, and that the ties between the two 
countries were Hkely to be soon re-estabHshed. But the belief 
proved to be a vain one ; it lasted only a moment. 

After a short while Great Britain was seen to prosecute 
with renewed activity the process of her invasions, her claims 
including this time the rich territory of Yuruari, the great 
mining district of Venezuela. On the 29th of November a 
motion was introduced in the Legislature of Demerara author- 
izing the construction of a railroad extending to the boundaries 
of the Colony, across the Mazaruni and Cuyuni rivers, within 
which boundaries, as alleged by the Queen's Attorney, the 
said District of Yuruari was comprised. And a month later 
the Governor issued the following proclamation: 

" BRITISH GUIANA. 

" By his Excellency, Charles Bruce, esquire, companion of 
the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, 
Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over 
the Colony of British Guiana, Vice-Admiral and Ordinary of 
the same, etc. 

" Whereas, It has come to the knowledge of the Govern- 
ment of British Guiana that certain concessions have been 
granted by the President and by and with the sanction of the 
Government of the United States of Venezuela, purporting 
to give and grant certain rights and privileges for constructing 
a railway to Guacipati, and in and over certain territories 
and lands within and forming part of the Colony of British 
Guiana; 

" Now, therefore, I do hereby intimate to all whom it may 
concern that no alleged rights purporting to be claimed under 
any such concession will be recognized within the said Colony 
of British Guiana, and that all persons found trespassing on 
or occupying the lands of the Colony without the authority 
of the Government of this Colony will be dealt with as the law 
directs. 



327 



" Given under my hand and the public seal of the Colony, 
^Georgetown, Demerara, this 31st day of December, 1887, and 
in the fifty-first year of Her Majesty's reign. God save the 
Queen. 

" By His Excellency's command. 

*' George Melville, 
«^ Acting Government Secretary. 

It was to this new r.nd exorbitant pretension that the Hon. 
Mr. Bayard adverted in the note from which the following 
passages are quoted: 

" The claim now stated to have been put forth by the 
authorities of British Guiana necessarily gives rise to grave 
disquietude, and creates an apprehension that the territorial 
claim does not follow historical traditions or evidence, but is 
apparently indefinite. At no time hitherto does it appear that 
the district, of which Guacipati is the center, has been claimed 
as British territory or that such jurisdiction has ever been 
asserted over its inhabitants, and if the reported decree of 
the Governor of British Guiana be indeed genuine, it is not 
apparent how any line of railway from Ciudad Bolivar to 
Guacipati could enter or traverse territory within the control 
of Great Britain. 

" It is true that the line claimed by Great Britain as the 
western boundary of British Guiana is uncertain and vague. 
It is only necessary to examine the British Colonial office list 
for a few years back to perceive this. In the issue for 1877, 
for instance, the line runs nearly southwardly from the mouth 
of the Amacuro to the junction of the Cotinga and Takutu 
rivers. In the issue for 1887, ten years later, it makes a wide 
detour to the westward, following the Yuruari. Guacipati 
lies considerably to the westward of the line officially claimed 
in 1887; ^fid it may perhaps be instructive to compare with it 
the map which doubtless will be found in the colonial office list 
for the present year. 

" It may be well for you to express anew to Lord Salisbury 
the great gratification it would afford this Government to see 



328 



the Venezuelan dispute amicably and honorably settled by^ 
arbitration or otherwise, and our readiness to do anything we 
properly can to assist in that end. 

" In course of your conversation you may refer to the pub- 
lication in the London Financier of January 24th (a copy of 
which you can procure and exhibit to Lord Salisbury), and 
express apprehension lest the widening pretensions of British 
Guiana to possess territory over which Venezuelan jurisdiction 
has never heretofore been disputed may not diminish the 
chances for a practical settlement. 

" If, indeed, it should appear that there is no fixed limit to 
the British boundary claim, our good disposition to aid in a 
settlement might not only be defeated, but be obliged to give 
place to a feeling of grave concern." (Mr. Bayard to Mr. 
Phelps, 17th of February, 1888.) 

Subsequently to the proclamation of the Governor of Deme- 
rara a force was sent off to take possession of the new ter- 
ritories and lands, and several projects were presented for 
the construction of a road to Yuruari, which was never exe- 
cuted, and of railway and telegraphic communications with 
the mines. 

In June, 1888, while the Republic, through her Represen- 
tative in Europe, was negotiating in a confidential way the 
preliminaries to the reinstallment of the question on a diplo- 
matic ground and to the re-establishment of harmony with 
Great Britain, the Government of British Guiana decreed the 
creation of one more colonial district, under the name of 
Northeast District, within the compass of which was included 
the Venezuelan territory of Barima. Officers were also ap- 
pointed for its permanent occupancy and the collection of 
taxes, and the sum of $10,000 was appropriated for adminis- 
tration expenses, etc. 

The report of the Department of Agriculture of the United 
States, previously mentioned, shows that the acquisitions of 
land in Guiana in detriment of the Venezuelan territory 
amounted to an area of 33,000 square miles only in the year 
of 1885 and 1886. The increase of English possessions ca» 



329 



be estimated in view of the extent of the appropriations from 
1884 to 1885, and of those effected after 1886, previously to 
the last decree of the Governor of Demerara, and at a later 
period. It will suffice to remember that reliable geographers 
situated the English Colony between the Corawin and Esse- 
quibo rivers at the first quarter of this century; that several 
of them assigned to it a surface of 50,000 to 60,000 square 
kilometers, while others considered it to be 65 leagues 
long by 30 wide, bounded on the Atlantic coast by the mouth 
of the Corentyn and Cape Nassau; that, according to the 
allegation of Venezuela, British Guiana, as succeeding Dutch 
Guiana, possesses only such extent of territory as is limited 
to the west by the Essequibo river (58° 30' longitude west 
of Greenwich) and by the 4° 2 ' and 6° 50 ' parallels north 
latitude, and that, as it appears from the Map of the Foreign 
Office List for 1892, it has now been stretched out to the 62^ 
meridian west longitude, and to the 1° and 9° parallels north 
latitude. 

Venezuela protested against the grievances committed in 
June, 1888, by the authority and settlers of Demerara, with 
or without the consent of the British Cabinet, as she had pre- 
viously done against similar proceedings in 1887; and renewed 
her protest in October of the same year, 1888, when the 
advice reached the Department of Foreign Relations that the 
English had two schooners in Barima, which relieved each 
other every fortnight; that they prevented the cutting of wood, 
did not allow the pontoon lighthouse of the Republic to anchor 
less than a half mile away from the land, and also continued 
to occupy Amacuro. The Department of State is acquainted 
with all these formal declarations of Venezuela in defence of 
her territorial rights ignored by Great Britain. 

Great Britain took no heed to such declarations. On the 
contrary, scarcely had a year elapsed since the last was made, 
the Government of Demerara took formal possession (procla- 
mation of December 4th, 1889 ) of the main mouth of the 
Orinoco, declared the city of Barima to be a British part of 
the Colony, and established there a police station, thus calling 



330 



forth a new protest on the part of Venezuela, on the i6th of 
December, 1889, which was also communicated in proper time 
to the Government of the United States, through its Legation 
at Caracas. 

The Department of State was not indifferent to the above 
mentioned communication; on the contrary, it hastened to 
authorize Mr. White to confer with Lord Salisbury respect- 
ing the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Great 
Britain and Venezuela, on the basis of a temporary return to 
the status quo, as suggested by the Venezuelan Minister. (Mr. 
Blaine to Mr. White, telegram of December 30th, 1889.) 
And in another telegraphic dispatch of a posterior date it car- 
ries stili further the offer of its friendly co-operation: 

"Mr. Lincoln is instructed to use his good offices with 
Lord Salisbury to bring about the resumption of diplomatic 
intercourse between Great Britain and Venezuela as a pre- 
liminary step toward the settlement of the boundary dispute by 
arbitration. The joint proposals of Great Britain and the 
United States toward Portugal, which have just been brought 
about, would seem to make the present time propitious for 
submitting this question to an international arbitration. He is 
requested to propose to Lord Salisbury, with a view to an ac- 
commodation, that informal conference be had in Washington 
or in London of representatives of the three Powers. In such 
conference the position of the United States is one solely of 
impartial friendship toward both litigants." (Mr. Blaine to 
Mr. Lincoln. Telegram ist of May, 1890.) 

The instruction contained in the foregoing telegram was 
confirmed and amplified in a subsequent note, where, after 
briefly considering the obstruction which the abrupt rupture of 
diplomatic intercourse with England opposed to the renewal 
of negotiations on the basis of the status quo, and the sur- 
render of the entire question to arbitration, the Honorable 
Secretary of State goes on to say : 

"It is nevertheless desired that you shall do all you can con- 
sistently with our attitude of impartial friendUness to induce 
some accord between the contestants by which the merits of 



331 



the controversy may be fairly ascertained and the rights of 
each party justly confirmed. The neutral position of this 
Government does not comport with any expression of opinion 
on the part of this Department as to what these rights are, 
but it is evident that the shifting footing on which the British 
boundary question has rested for several years past is an 
obstacle to such a correct appreciation of the nature and 
grounds of her claim as would alone warrant the foundation of 
any opinion. (Mr. Blaine to Mr. Lincoln. 6th of May, 1890.) 

The following considerations, among others, were offered bv 
the Marquis of Salisbury: 

"Her Majesty's Government are very sensible of the friendly 
feelings which have prompted this offer on the part of the 
United States Government. They are, however, at the present 
moment in communication with the Venezuelan Minister in 
Paris, who has been authorized to express the desire of his 
Government for the renewal of diplomatic relations and to 
discuss the conditions on which it may be effected. 

"The rupture of relations was, as your Government is 
aware, the act of Venezuela, and Her Majesty's Government 
had undoubtedly reason to complain of the manner in which it 
was effected. But they are quite willing to put this part of 
the question aside, and their only desire is that the renewal of 
friendly intercourse should be accompanied by arrangements 
for the settlement of the several questions at issue. 

" I have stated to Seiior Urbaneja the terms on which Her 
Majesty's Government consider that such a settlement might 
be made, and am now awaiting the reply of the Venezuelan 
Government, to whom he has doubtless communicated my 
proposal. 

" Her Majesty's Government would wish to have the oppor- 
tunity of examining that reply, and ascertaining what prospect 
it would afford of an adjustment of existing differences, before 
considering the expediency of having recourse to the good 
offices of a third party. 

"T may mention that, in so far as regards the frontier 
between British Guiana and Venezuela, I have informed Senor 



332 



Urbaneja of the willingness of Her Majesty's (government to 
abandon certain portions of the claim which they believe 
themselves entitled in strict right to make and to submit other 
portions to arbitration, reserving only that territory as to 
which they believe their rights admit of no reasonable doubt. 
If this offer is met by the Venezuelan Government in a cor- 
responding spirit, there should be no insuperable difficulty 
in arriving at a solution. But public opinion is, unfortunately, 
much excited on the subject in V^enezuela, and the facts of the 
case are strangely misunderstood." (The Marquis of Salisbury 
to Mr. Lincoln. 26th of May, 1890.) 

Lord Salisbury had, indeed, communicated two memoranda 
to Senor Urbaneja, one on the loth of February, and the other 
on the 19th of March, 1890. 

In both it is categorically stated that "Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment cannot accept as satisfactory any arrangement not 
admitting as English property the territory included within the 
line laid down by Sir R. Schomburgk." 

And in the second of them he further says: "That in order 
to facilitate an arrangement and in evidence of good-will 
towards Venezuela, Her Majesty's Government are disposed 
to relinquish a part of a certain pretension, and that, in regard 
to the portion of territory not comprised between Schom- 
burgk's line and England's extreme pretensions, they are dis- 
posed to submit to the arbitration of a third power." 

This last begins at the Mountains of Imataca, opposite to 
the source of the river bearing the same name, and of the 
Aquire. It bends to the southwest and extends along the 
Yuruari river down to the point where Lord Granville's line 
joins that of Schomburgk, now altered; thence it continues 
westw^ard until it reaches the confluence of the Yuruari with 
the Cuyuni; then turns northward along the course of the 
Yuruari to a certain distance above the town of Nueva Provi- 
dencia, which it encircles; and embracing the whole of the 
Avechica river and of the Sierra of Usupamo as far as the 
spot where the latter runs together with that of Carapo, it 
skirts the Mountains of Rinocoto up to the source of the Caco 



333 



river. To this line a portion of land is to be added, thus 
bounded: From the spot previously mentioned, opposite to the 
Aquire and Imataca rivers, it spreads southeasterly to a cer- 
tain nameless river (perhaps the Paraguayaira) ; thence to the 
southwest towards the Cuyuni, the left bank of which it follows 
as far as the source of the Camarate river, from which it now 
turns away in a curved direction to reach the origin of the 
above mentioned Caco river. The part of pretension which 
she abandoned was that limited by the line which, starting 
from the vicinity of the mouth of the Amacuro, descends to 
the southwest as far as the origin of the Yariquita Mountains, 
proceeds along the ridge of Imataca, to the town of Upata, 
intersects the Usupamo and Carapo at the place where they 
flow into the Caroni, and extends along the Carapo and 
Rinocoto Mountains till it blends with the original line of 
Schomburgk. 

In fine, of the three sections into which Lord Salisbury di- 
vided this time the territory in dispute, that which Her Majes- 
ty's Government held in possession as exempt from all discus- 
sion regarding titles was no other than the portion including 
Barima, one of the mouths of the Orinoco, precisely the knot 
of the controversy ; the same that had been explored by Sir 
R. Schomburgk and constantly rejected by Venezuela since 
1840, which now appeared considerably altered to the benefit 
of Great Britain, as it can be seen by comparison with the 
original line of the same EngHsh engineer as figured in the 
map showing the various boundaries proposed by Venezuela 
and England until 1890. A copy of this map is in the posses- 
sion of the Department of State. 

Before the reply of Venezuela to the proposals of Lord 
Salisbury had reached Doctor Urbaneja, Doctor Lucio PuHdo 
arrived at London as his substitute, with the powers of a Pleni- 
potentiary ad hoc and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- 
potentiary of the Republic. The main object of this diplo- 
matic mission was the resumption of relations with Great Brit- 
ain, through the good offices of the Minister of the United 
States, a condition sine qua non of such resumption being the 



334 



pre-establishment of cardinal points — among them the settle- 
ments of the conflict by arbitration — intended to govern the 
discussion concerning any definite agreement. 

Sir Th. Sanderson, Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, 
with whom Dr. Pulido negotiated, proposed to him a line 
which, commencing at Punta Mocomoco, between Punta Ba- 
rima and the Guaima river, w^as to border upon the Amacuro 
river on the west, in compensation for which the boundary line 
was to follow the course of the Uruan or Yuriiari river, up 
from its junction with the Cuyuni, and could be stretched as 
far as the Mountains of Usupamo and Rinocoto. He prom- 
ised, moreover, according to Dr. Pulido's official report, that 
Her Majesty's Government, being willing to negotiate directly 
with that of Venezuela for the purpose of establishing a fron- 
tier of mutual convenience between the two Guianas, approach- 
ing as far as possible the natural limits, would lengthen Sir Th. 
Sanderson's line from Cape Mocomoco towards the south- 
east, and would renonunce any claim or compensation whatever 
for the abandonment or, to speak more properly, for the res- 
titution of the mouths of the Orinoco and the adjoining terri- 
tories. 

It cannot be observed that, by this proposition. Great Brit- 
ain again admitted discussion concerning her right over the 
territory explored by Schomburgk, a right formerly asserted 
to be unquestionable, and even promised to withdraw all claims 
to the Orinoco and the neighboring country. The proposition 
was thus rendered more advantageous than the one which had 
been made to Senor Urbaneja in the previous month of 
March ; but since Venezuela's aim had been not to propose 
the adjustment of the difference at once, but to promote a re- 
newal of diplomatic intercourse on condition that the English 
Government should agree to submit the question to interna- 
tional arbitration, a purpose which had not been realized, 
Seiior Pulido returned to Caracas in September of the same 
year, 1890, leaving the boundary dispute in the state above de- 
scribed, and the good understanding between the two Nations 
interrupted as before. 



335 



As a testimony of her sincere desire to re-establish her re- 
lations and facilitate by that means the removal of all the diffi- 
culties, Venezuela finally appointed Senor Tomas Michelena, 
Confidential Agent of the Republic, to resume negotiations 
with Her Majesty's Government in pursuance of that purpose. 
I offer here an excerpt of the clauses presented by him at the 
outset of his proceedings : 

First. After the renewal of the official relations between the 
two counties, subsequently to the ratification of this preHminary 
agreement by the respective Governments, each of them shall 
appoint one or more delegates invested with full powers, to 
sign a treaty on boundaries, founded on a conscientious and 
thorough examination of the documents, titles and antecedents 
supporting their claims ; it being moreover agreed that the 
decision of the doubtful points, or the delineation of a divisional 
line, concerning which no accord may be reached by the dele- 
gates, shall be submitted to the final and unappealable decision 
of an arbiter juris who, the case occurring, shall be nominated 
by mutual concert between the two Governments. 

Second. In order that the re-establishment of relations with 
Her Majesty's Government may be accompHshed on a footing 
of the greatest cordiality, the Government of Venezuela will 
proceed to the conclusion of a new treaty of commerce, revok- 
ing the 30 per cent, additional duty, and substituting in its place 
one of limited duration, such as that proposed by Lord Gran- 
ville in 1884. 

Third. The claims which Her British Majesty's subjects and 
the citizens of the RepubHc of Venezuela may have a right to 
produce against each other's Government, shall be investigated 
by a Commission appointed ad hoc, Venezuela agreeing to such 
a proceeding so far only as this special case is concerned, since, 
by a decree of the Republic, the judgment and decision on 
foreign claims are committed to the Supreme Federal Court, 
and it shall consequently be declared that, as regards future 
claims, Great Britain accepts the foregoing regulation. 

Fourth. It shall be stated in the preliminary agreement that 
both Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Ven- 



336 



ezuela acknowledge and declare the status quo of the boundary- 
question to be that which existed in 1850, when the Hon. Sir 
B. Wilson, Charg6 d'Affaires of England at Caracas, formally 
manifested, in the name and by express order of Her British 
Majesty's Government, that no portion of the disputed territory 
would be occupied, and solicited and obtained a similar declara- 
tion .on the part of the Venezuelan Government. This status 
quo shall be maintained until the treaty on boundaries adverted 
to in clause i shall have been concluded. 

Fifth. The agreement to be made on the preceding bases, 
signed by the Confidential Agent of Venezuela in exercise of 
the powers with which he is invested, and the person duly au- 
thorized to that effect by Great Britain, shall be forthwith sub- 
mitted to ratification by both Governments, and, after exchange, 
the diplomatic relations between the two countries shall be 
considered re-established ijpso facto, 

London, the 26th of May, 1893. 

Lord Rosebery replied on the 3d of the following July. He 
offered no immediate remark concerning the propositions con- 
tained in clauses 2, 3 and 5 presented by Senor Michelena ; 
but, referring only to clauses i and 4 on the boundary ques- 
tion between Venezuela and British Guiana, which in his 
opinion, was the most important of all the questions to be con- 
sidered, he pointed out that, although the present proposal of 
the Venezuelan Government admitted the possibility of 
settling the boundary controversy by treaty, the fact that it 
also involved reference to arbitration, in case of difference be- 
tween the delegates of the two Governments intrusted with 
the negotiation of that treaty, practically reduced it to the form 
which has repeatedly been declined by Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment, namely, the reference to arbitration of a claim ad- 
vanced by Venezuela to a great portion of a long established 
British Colony. 

Her Majesty's Government, therefore, considered that the 
clause I of the Fro Memoria could only be accepted by them 
under the conditions specified in the memorandum communi- 
cated in Sir Th. Sanderson's note to Senor Urbaneja, dated 



337 



the 19th of March, 1890. They would propose ihe amendment 
of clause i of the Pro Memoria in the manner indicated by 
the additions marked with red ink in the copy therein in- 
closed. 

With regard to clause 4 of the Pro Meynoria in which it is 
proposed that both Her Majesty's Government and the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela shall acknowledge and declare that the 
status quo of the boundary controversy is that which existed 
in 1850, Her Majesty's Government considered it quite im- 
possible that they should consent to revert to the state of affairs 
in 1850, and to evacuate what had for some years constituted 
an integrant portion of British Guiana. They regretted, there- 
fore, that they could not entertain that proposition. Great 
Britain believed herself entitled to incontestable rights over 
the territory now occupied by her. Those rights she was un- 
able now to abandon, and she could not consent that any status 
quo, except that now existing, should remain in force during 
the progress of the negotiations. 

The alteration of clauses i and 4, as proposed by Lord 
Rosebery, reads textually as follows, the words which are in 
italic being those which appear in red ink in the original : 

" Whereas, the Government of Great Britain claims certain 
territory in Guiana, as successor in title of the Netherlands, 
and the Government of Venezuela claims the same territory 
as being the heir of Spain, bofh Governments being inspired 
by friendly intentions, and being desirous of putting an end to 
the differences which have arisen in this matter, and both 
Governments wishing to pay all deference to the titles alleged 
by either to prove its jurisdiction and proprietary rights over 
the territory in question, they agree and stipulate that, as soon 
as the official relations shall have been re-established between 
the two countries, and after the ratification of the present pre- 
liminary convention by both Governments, one or more dele- 
gates shall be named by each party, with full powers to con- 
clude a frontier treaty, founded on a conscientious and com- 
plete examination, by said delegates, of the documents, titles, 
and past events supporting the claims of either party; it being 



338 



agreed that the said territory in dispute lies to the west of the line 
laid down in the map communicated to the Government of Vene- 
zuela on the 19th of March y 1890, and to the east of a line to be 
marked on the same map running from the source of the river 
Cumano down that stream and up the Aima, and so along the 
Sierra of Usupamoy and that the decision of doubtful points 
and the laying down of a frontier on the line of which the dele- 
gates may be unable to agree, shall be submitted to the final 
decision, from which there shall be no appeal, of a Juridical 
Arbiter, to be appointed, should the case arise, by common 
aorreement between the two Governments." 

This frontier impairs the right of Venezuela, if compared 
with that proposed in i886 by Lord Rosebery himself to Gen- 
eral (juzman Blanco, and also to a greater extent, with the 
line described on the map sent by Lord Salisbury to Senor 
Urbaneja on the 19th of March, 1890, through Sir Th. San- 
derson, since the aforesaid limit intended to be drawn to the 
west of the latter necessarily and finally confers on Great 
Britain the proprietorship, actually and by right, of a greater 
portion of territory not subject to the decision of the delegates 
and of the Juridical Arbiter. 

Venezuela had declined the first and second lines, and so had 
stronger reasons not to accept the third. Seiior Michelena 
communicated forthwith her refusal, reiterating at the same 
time her desire that the British Government should consent to 
resume the discussion of the preliminary treaty, inspiring them- 
selves in the declarations which, in their name, had been re- 
cently made by Mr. Gladstone before the Parliament in be- 
half of arbitration. 

On the 1 2th of September, Lord Rosebery replied : 

" Her Majesty's Government have carefully examined the 
arguments contained in your note of the 3rst of last July, con- 
cerning the settlement of the boundary question between the 
Republic of Venezuela and the Colony of British Guiana. 

*' I regret to inform you that it does not appear to Her Maj- 
esty's Government that the contents of your note open the 



339 



way to an agreement that they can accept concerning this 
question. 

"They are still desirous, however, to come to an under- 
standing in regard to the frontier between the p.^ssessions of 
the two countries, and they are disposed to give their best at- 
tention to any practicable proposals that might be offered 
them to that effect." 

Senor Michelena analyzed this note in a communication to 
the Foreign Office, dated the 29th of the same month of Sep- 
tember, 1893, wherein he briefly sketches the history of the 
controversy from Seiior Fortique's mission in 1840 up to his 
in 1893, and expresses his regret that he must acquaint the 
Government of the Repubhc with the last reply given by that 
of Great Britain. He closes with the following protest : 

" It now remains for me to declare in the most solemn man- 
ner, in the name of the Government of Venezuela, that they 
deeply regret that the condition of affairs created by the 
events, which occurred during the late years in the disputed 
territory, must remain subject to the serious disturbances which 
de facto proceedings cannot fail to produce, and that in no 
time will Venezuela consent that such proceedings be adduced 
as valid titles to legitimize an occupancy interfering with her 
territorial jurisdiction." 

Under the direction of Dr. Chittenden, Secretary of the 
Board of Agriculture of Trinidad, a sloop had been fitted out 
some days before for the purpose of carrying twenty-nine ex- 
peditionists to High Barima, who were to further the works of 
the Dixon Company. Together with this news the Por^o/-AS^<2m 
Gazette of the 25th of July announced vast schemes of enter- 
prise to be carried out, with the aid of companies and capital- 
ists from the Colony, in the territory now called Northwest 
District by the English, extending as far as the mouth of the 
Orinoco. The Executive of Venezuela considered this occur- 
rence and the said schemes no less of a nature to embarrass 
the agreement in furtherance of the settlement of the boundary 
question than contrary to the good cause of the negotiations 
commenced at London, inasmuch as the Republic had always 



340 



defended as her property the territory of that District. The 
Executive accordingly instructed its Confidential Agent to 
make them known to Her Majesty's Government, which the 
Agent did. 

Lord Rosebery rephed on the 226. of September: 

" With reference to my note of the 2d instant, I have the 
honor to inform you that Her Majesty's Government have 
given their careful attention to the representations contained 
in your note of the 26th ultimo, complaining of acts on the 
part of the Authorities of British Guiana, which are consid- 
ered by the Venezuelan rvlinister for Foreign Affairs to be in 
contravention of the rights of Venezuela. 

" Her Majesty's Government are desirous of showing all 
proper respect for the recognized rights of Venezuela, but 
the acts of jurisdiction to which you refer in your note do not 
appear to them to constitute any infraction of or encroach- 
ment upon those rights. They are in fact no more than part 
of the necessary administration of a territory, which Her Maj- 
esty's Government consider to be indisputably a portion of the 
Colony of British Guiana, and to which, as it has been their 
duty to state more than once, they can admit no claim on the 
part of Venezuela." 

And Mr. Michelena closed the discussion with his reply of 
the 6th of October, the last two paragraphs whereof I may 
conveniently insert here, as they include the last declaration of 
Venezuela against the illegal and grievous proceedings of 
Great Britain: 

" I perform a most strict duty in raising again, in the name 
of the Government of Venezuela, a most solemn protest 
against the proceedings of the Colony of British Guiana, con- 
stituting encroachments upon the territory of the Republic, 
and against the declaration contained in Your Excellency's 
communication, that Her Britannic Majesty's Government 
consider that part of the territory as pertaining to British 
Guiana, and admit no claim to it on the part of Venezuela. 
In support of this protest, I reproduce all the arguments pre- 
sented to Your Excellency in my note of 29th of last Sep- 



341 



tember and those which have been exhibited by the Govern- 
ment of Venezuela on the various occasions they have raised 
this same protest. 

" I lay on Her British Majesty's Government the entire re- 
sponsibility of the incidents that may arise in future from the 
necessity to which Venezuela has been driven to oppose by 
all possible means the disposition of a part of her territorv, 
for by disregarding her just representation to put an end to 
this violent state of affairs through the decision of arbiters, 
Her Majesty's Government ignores her rights and imposes 
upon her the painful though peremptory duty of providing for 
her own legitimate defence." 

Thus ended the sixth and last negotiation promoted by Ven- 
ezuela for the adjustment of the present dispute. 

The circumstances which gave rise to this dispute was the 
commission entrusted to Sir R. H. Schomburgk by Her Brit- 
ish Majesty's Government in 1840, so that the difference has 
lasted m.ore than half a century. 

The right claimed by Venezuela to the territory lying be- 
tween the rivers Essequibo and Orinoco is founded on the 
following titles: 

I. Those acquired from Spain by virtue of independence, 
belonging to the Captaincy-General of Venezuela, and after- 
wards transferred to the Republic by the treaty of peace and 
recognition of the 30th of March, 1845, namely : (a) Treaty of 
Miinster, 1648 ; (b) Note of the Governor of Cumana, to the 
Council of the same city, ist of February, 1742 ; (c) Treaty of 
1750 between the Portuguese and Spaniards ; (d) Reply of the 
■Governor of Cumana, through the Commander of Guiana, to 
the note of the Director-General of the Dutch Colony of Esse- 
quibo, dated September 30th, 1758; (e) Royal Schedules of 
1768, two in number; (f) Declaration of the Spanish Ministry 
in 1769, rejecting certain pretensions of the Dutch to the right 
of fishing in the mouth of the Orinoco river; (g) Instructions 
of the intendancy for peophng the eastern part of Guiana, 
1779; (h) Royal order of 1780, directing Don FeHpe de 
Jnciarte to found the town of San Carlos; (i) Report of Don 



342 



Antonio Lopez de la Puente, who had been commissioned to 
explore the Cuyuni river, February 26th, 1788; (j) Treaty 
of the 23d of June, 1791, between Spain and Holland for the 
extradition of fugitives and deserters from either Guiana ; (k) 
Communication of the Secretary of the Dutch Company of the 
West Indies to the Minister of the Spanish Government in 
Holland, 8th of January, 1794. 

II. Those corresponding to the time of the Republic : 
(1) Petition of Her British Majesty's Charge d' Affaires near 
the Government of Venezuela for the construction of light- 
houses and other signals at Punta Barima, and for the estab- 
lishment of beacons in the main mouth of the Orinoco, 26th 
of May, 1836; (m) Dispatch of the Governor of Demerara; 
(Parhamentary Papers), ist of September, 1838; (n) Note 
from the Venezuelan Governor of Guiana to the Government, 
August 23d, I 84 1, on the acknowledgment of Venezuelan 
jurisdiction over Caiio Moruco by a court of Demerara; (o) 
A similar act of virtual recognition of Venezuelan jurisdic- 
tion in I 874, on account of the homicide committed by the 
Enghsh subject, Thomas Garrett. 

The right of Venezuela has been contested by Great Brit- 
ain on the following grounds : 

1. The forts of New Zealand and New Middleburgh 
erected by the Dutch in 1657 on the Pomaron and Moroco. 

2. The concessions granted by the Dutch Company, succes- 
sor in I 674 to the West Indies Company, for trading with the 
colonies of Essequibo and Pomaron, the latter extending, ac- 
cording to Great Britain, as far as the Orinoco. 

3. The combat at Fort New Zealand in i 797, between 
Dutch and Spaniards, in which the latter were defeated and 
driven away, 

4. The treaty of London, dated August r3th, 1814, by 
which Holland ceded Great Britain to Colonies of Demerara, 
Essequibo and Berbice. 

Venezuela has sought to bring about the adjustment of the 
controversy by the various diplomatic means known in in- 



343 



ternational law, direct negotiations, and the good offices and 
mediation of States friendly to both parties. 

Great Britain has not listened to the Powers which have 
been good enough to offer the interposition of their good offices, 
neither has she accepted their mediation. And as for direct 
discussion,she has not admitted it as an expedient means of clear- 
ing the reasons in support of the pretensions of either party, 
but to render less possible their conciliation by her ever- 
growing claims. 

Venezuela has always believed that she can rightfully es- 
tablish the limit between herself and British Guiana along the 
Essequibo river, for this has been no reason to prevent her 
from showing her readiness to reduce her claim for the sake 
of an amicable adjustment, as she has twice done when her 
National Constitution has permitted. 

Great Britain had not advanced beyond the Pomaron river 
in 1840. All at once, in the same year, she made an attempt 
to extend her dominion as far as Barima, where she fixed the 
starting point of the frontier line between the two Guianas — 
Schomburgk's line ; she retrograded in 1844, and proposed 
that the line should commence at the River Moroco, between 
the Pomaron and Punta Barima — Aberdeen's line ; in 1881 
she removed the starting-point to a distance of 29 miles from 
the Moroco, in the direction of Punta Barima — Granville's 
line ; thence, in 1886, to a place on the coast west of the 
Guaima river, between the former spot and the Punta Barima 
— Rosebery's line ; in 1890, she set it in the mouth of the 
Amacuro, west of Punta Barima, on the Orinoco — Salisbury's 
line ; and finally, in 1893, constantly advancing west and south 
in the interior of the country, she carried the boundary from a 
point to the west of the Amacuro as far as the source of the 
Cumano river and the Sierra of Usupamo — Rosebery's new 
line. 

Venezuela has always abode by the convention of 1850, by 
which both parties engaged not to occupy the territory in 
dispute so long as the question remained unsettled. 

Great Britain has violated that convention without any con- 



344 



sideration whatever of the other party. She has gradually 
occupied the disputed territory, has incorporated it with British 
Guiana, has submitted it to her absolute dominion and admin- 
isters it at her own will. 

Venezuela has demanded a just reparation for this offence. 
Great Britain has refused it. 

The diplomatic recourses having proved fruitless, Venezuela 
has esteemed it her duty since 1883 to resort to juridical mtians, 
and to propose the submission of the difference to the decision 
of a court of arbitration. 

Great Britain has declined this agreement. 

Out of dignity, Venezuela has suspended friendly relations 
with her opponent. 

Great Britain has considered this act a lawful motive for 
adopting more violent and offensive measures. 

Venezuela has been ready to adhere to the conciliatory 
counsel of the United States, that a conference consisting of 
their own representatives and those of the two parties, should 
meet at Washington or London for the purpose of preparing 
an honorable re-establishment of harmony between the liti- 
gants. 

Great Britain has disregarded the equitable proposition of 
the United States. 

Venezuela has carried her spirit of peace and conciliation so 
far as even to appoint three diplomatic representatives with a 
private character from 1890 up to this time, with the view of 
promoting the renewal of friendship through a prior engage- 
ment to submit the question to arbitration. 

In response Great Britain has insisted on treating Venezuela 
as a minor State to which she can dictate the sacrifice of its 
right and territory, while deciding of her own accord what 
light and territory belong to herself unquestionably and with- 
out further discussion. 

Venezuela has not been able to obtain respect for her ju- 
ridical equality. She has met each violation with a represen- 
tation and a formal protest. 



345 



Such is the summary accouat of this long and vexing con- 
test from its outset to the present time. 

(Signed) Jose Andrade. 

Washington, D. C, March 31st, 1894. 



Dr. Rojas to Cardi?ial Rampolla. 

[Translation.] 

United States of Venezuela. 
Department of Foreign Relations, 
Direction of Foreign Public Law. — No. 734. 

Caracas, June 19, 1894. 

His Excellency : 

For some time General Joaquin Crespo, President of the 
Republic, has been considering the idea of soliciting the inter- 
position of the Holy Father to bring to a peaceful, just, and 
decorous end the grave question yet existing between Vene- 
zuela and England regarding the limits of Guiana. And be- 
cause the presence here of a Representative of the Holy See 
facilitates and makes this occasion still more propitious to 
bring about that purpose, the Chief Magistrate has conferred 
upon me the duty of communicating his ideas to His Excel- 
lency, Senor Tonti, to whom I have already spoken, in the 
confidence that the case demanded, of the opinion of the Chief 
•of the Government in respect to the importance and efficacy 
of that mediation. 

The voyage to Rome of the Representative of the High 
Pontiff offers still greater facilities for the attainment of the 
object, since thus, His Excellency Senor Tonti will be enabled 
to treat in the most direct manner possible and with the 
knowledge already possessed on the matter, as to the effica- 
cious and practical means of giving the Holy See, in so deli- 
cate and transcendental a subject, the beneficial mediation 
which the Venezuelan Government so much desires. 

The Government trusts that His HoHness will be incUned to 
consider this solicitation with the same fatherly interest which 
he has always shown in all that pertains to the welfare of the 
Republic. 



346 



With the purpose of obtaining this very vahiable aid of His 
Eminence on a point of such import, I have the honor of ad- 
dressing this communication. 

His Eminence will please accept the renewed assurances of 
my respectful consideration. 

P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS. 

To His Eminence Cardinal Rampolla, Secretary of State of His Holiness the 
High Pontiff Leo XHI. 



Cardhial Rampolla to Dr. Rojas. 

f Translation.] 

No. 21560. 

His Excelleiicy: 

I received in due time the esteemed communication in which 
Your Excellency sought my good offices in facilitating the 
fulfillment of the wish expressed, in the name of His Excel- 
lency the President of that Republic, in regard to the grave 
question that exists between Venezuela and England, on the 
point of the territorial Hmits of Guayana. The Holy Father, 
whom I hastened to inform of that respected desire, so as to 
give a new proof of his benevolence towards that Republic,, 
designed to accede to it and permitted that, in his august name, 
the official steps should be taken before the Government of 
Her British Majesty to obtain the object wished for by the 
President. His Excellency himself, Sefior Tonti, Apostolic 
Delegate to that Republic, went to London to treat on the sub- 
ject with that Government and conferred long with the Minis- 
ter of Foreign Relations of England. But I regret that the 
result of the aforesaid official steps and of the conferences of 
the Apostolic Delegate were not in accordance with the 
common desire of the Holy See and of the Government o£ 
Venezuela. 

Your Excellency will receive from the referred to Sefior 
Tonti, who is about to return to Caracas, the particulars o£ 
this affair. 



347 



Meanwhile L improve this opportunity to offer to Your Ex- 
cellency the sentiment of the distinguished consideration with 
which I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most devoted 
servant, 

Cardinal Rampolla. 

Rome, December 7th, 1894. 

To His Excellency Senor Pedro Ezequiel Rojas, Minister of Foreign Relations of 
the United States of Venezuela. 



General Joaquifi Crespo, Cofistitiitional President of the United States 
of Venezuela, to His Holiness the High Pontiff Leo XHL 

[Translation.] 

Most Pious Father: 

When in the month of June of the past year, through 
the medium of His Excellency Senor Julio Tonti, Diplomatic 
Representative of Your Holiness in this Republic, and in a 
special letter that I caused to be addressed to His Eminence 
Cardinal Rampolla, I solicited the interposition of thePontificate 
so as to^ secure from England the agreement to refer to im- 
partial arbitration, so long proposed by Venezuela, the settle- 
ment of the boundary limits with the Colony of Demerara, I 
was convinced that the benevolence of Your Holiness would 
be manifested on such an occasion so categorical and decided, 
as always is whenever it concerns the welfare of nations and 
the peace of humanity. 

The facts eloquently confirm my belief; and although the 
result of the noble efforts directed by Your HoHness could not 
reach, through special circumstances, to the height of the 
design that inspired it, Venezuela, and with her her Govern- 
ment, shall always esteem the steps taken by the Holy See in 
this deHcate affair as being of the utmost importance, and 
remember and feel grateful for it, as much as if its results had 
been those solicited by Your Holiness and so anxiously desired 
by the Republic. 

As an expression of the deepest gratitude for such a marked 



348 



service, I now address this letter to Your Holiness, together 
with the prayer that I be given the grace of the Apostolic 
Benediction, and that Your Holiness accept with benevolence 
the invocation I make that Heaven keep the precious life of 
Your Holiness many years for the greater glory of the Pon- 
tificate . 

Joaquin Crespo. 

Countersigned. 

P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS, 

The Minister of Foreign Relations. 

P'ederal Palace of the Capitol, in Caracas, the twenty-eighth day of January of the 
Year of Our Lord the 1895. 



Dr. Rojas to Cardinal Rainpolla. 

[ Translation.] 

United States of Venezuela. 
Department of Foreign Relations. 
Direction of Foreign Public Law. — No. 245 — his. 

Caracas, February 20, 1895. 

His Ejnincncc : 

By the attentive letter of Your Eminence, dated in Rome, 
December the 7th last, and placed at my hands by His Excel- 
lency Seiior Julio Tonti, Envoy Extraordinary of the Holy 
See in this Republic, the Government has been informed, with 
the most vivid gratitude, of the noble reception accorded to the 
earnest desire of Venezuela in regard to obtaining the inter- 
position of the High Pontiff on the grave subject of boundaries 
with the British Colony of Guiana. 

His Excellency Senor Tonti, to whom Your Eminence referred 
me for the communication of the details relating to the action 
taken by His Holiness relative to the desires of Venezuela, 
has shown me the character of the undertaking brought about 
by the same, and by order of the High Pontiff, before the 
Minister of Foreign Relations of Her Britannic Majesty, as 



349 



well as the result of it, which, although not favorable as it 
should have been to the high and benevolent mediation of the 
Holy See, and to the salutary purposes of the Venezuelan 
Government, it shall be considered as of extreme importance 
and worthy of being remembered with the utmost recogni- 
tion. 

The President of the Republic in a special letter to His 
Holiness thus expresses it, and I do myself the honor to repeat 
it to Your Eminence, to whom I renew, at the same time, the 
homage of my consideration. 

P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS. 

To His Eminence Cardinal Rampolla, Secretary of State of His Holiness the 
High Pontiff Leo XHI. 



Dr. Rojas to the Papal Envoy i?i Caracas. 

[ Translation.] 

United States of Venezuela. 
Department of Foreign Relations. 
Direction of Foreign Public Law. — No. 246 — his. 

Caracas, February 20, 1895. 

Yotcr Excellency : 

After having read the letter of His Eminence Cardinal 
Rampolla, which Your Excellency placed in my hands early 
in January last, I heard from the very mouth of Your Excel- 
lency the statement of the steps taken by the High Pontiff to 
carry to an amicable termination the dispute by reason of 
boundary limits between Venezuela and the English Colony 
of Demerara. I understood all the importance of the high in- 
tercession and its elevated moral character notwithstanding 
the negative result offered by influence of special circum- 
stances. 

For what I then expressed, Your Excellency w^ould under- 
stand all the appreciation with which, from the beginning, the 
Government of the Republic viewed the kind reception His 



sm 



Holiness had given to the solicitation of Venezuela and the 
recognition to which it considered itself indebted for so valu- 
able an interposition. 

Therefore, the President of the Republic considered it his 
duty to address to the High Pontiff an special letter which I 
have the honor to inclose here to Your Excellency, together 
with the customary copy, and in which the Supreme Magis- 
trate expresses the grateful sentiments which are the moral 
consequence of any benefit received. 

The letter for His Eminence Cardinal Rampolla contains an 
equal expression, which I also do myself the honor to accom- 
pany with the request that it be forwarded. 

The Government owes to Your Excellency, and I take 
pleasure in thus expressing it, a special testimonial of gratitude 
for the singularly sincere and prudent manner in which Your 
Excellency aided the purpose of the Venezuelan Executive 
Power, and fulfilled the trust of the Holy Father before the 
Government of England. 

Be pleased, Your Excellency, to accept the renewed assur- 
ances of my highest and most distinguished consideration. 

P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS. 

To His Excellency Senor Julio Tonti, Envoy Extraordinary of the Holy See in the 
United States of Venezuela. 



T/ie Papal Eiivoy to Dr. Rojas. 

[Translation.] 

Apostolic Delegation. — No. 120. 

Caracas, March 16, 1895. 

Mr. Minister: 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note 
that has just reached my hands, dated the 20th of February 
last, in which Your Excellency evinces the gratitude of the 
Government for the mediation interposed by the Holy Father 
to the effect that the question of limits between Venezuela and 
the English Colony of Demerara should terminate amicably. 



351 



As an expression of that gratitude, Your Excellency inclosed 
therein two letters, so that I send them to their destination, one 
from His Excellency General Crespo, President of the Re- 
public, for the Holy Father, and another of yours for His 
Eminence Cardinal Rampolla, Secretary of State of His Holi- 
ness. 

On assuring you, Mr. Minister, that at the first occasion I 
shall send them to Rome, I make haste to express my entire 
satisfaction for the noble sentiments by which the two mentioned 
letters, worthy of a Catholic nation, are inspired. 

The flattering expressions in Your Excellency's note, con- 
<:erning me personally, impressed me much, and therefore it is 
tny special duty, Mr. Minister, to attest to you and to His 
Excellency the President, not less than to the members of the 
Government, my highest gratitude for them. 

I shall feel very happy, whenever within the limits of my 
power, I may lend any service to the Republic of Venezuela, 
which Government and citizens have not ceased in giving 
me, since my arrival, undoubted proofs of their affectionate 
sympathy. 

Be pleased to accept, Mr. Minister, the expressions of my 
most high consideration. 

Julio, 

Apostolic Delegate and Envoy Extraordinary 

of the Holy See. 

To His Excellency Senor Don P. Ezequiel Rojas, Minister of Foreign Relations. 



Mr. Gresham to Mr. Bayard. 

Department of State, 
Washington, July 13, 1894. 

No. 442. 

Sir: 

During your incumbency of the office of Secretary of 
State you became acquainted with a long-pending controversy 
between Great Britain and Venezuela concerning the bound- 
ary between that Republic and British Guiana. 



352 



The recourse to arbitration, first proposed in 1881, having- 
been supported by your predecessors, was in turn advocated 
by you in a spirit of friendly regard for the two nations in- 
volved. In the meantime, successive advances of British set- 
tlers in the region admittedly in dispute were followed by 
similar advances of British colonial administration, contesting 
and supplanting Venezuelan claims to exercise authority 
therein. 

Toward the end of 1887 the British territorial claim, which 
had, as it would seem, been silently increased by some 33,000 
square miles between 1885 and 1886, took another compre- 
hensive sweep westward to embrace the rich mining district 
of the Yuruari as far as Guacipati; and this called forth your 
instruction to Mr. Phelps of February 17, 1888, respecting the 
" widening pretensions of British Guiana to possess territory 
over which Venezuelan jurisdiction" had never theretofore 
been disputed. 

Since then repeated efforts have been made by Venezuela 
as a directly interested party, and by the United States as the 
impartial friend of both countries, to bring about a resumption 
of diplomatic relations, which had been suspended in conse- 
quence of the dispute now under consideration. The propo- 
sition to resume such relations has, however, been intimately 
bound up with the ultimate question of arbitration. Until 
recently Venezuela has insisted upon joining to the agreement 
to arbitrate a stipulation for the restoration of the status quo 
of 1850 pending the proposed arbitration; but it seems that 
this condition is now abandoned. On the other hand, Great 
Britain has on several occasions demanded, as a preliminary 
to an understanding touching arbitration, that Venezuela shall 
definitely abandon all claim to a large part of the territory in 
dispute and limit the eventual arbitration to that portion only 
to which Great Britain has more recently laid claim. 

In May, 1890, replying to a note of Mr. Lincoln, tendering 
the good offices of this Government to bring about a resump- 
tion of relations, by means of a conference of representatives 
of the three powers, or in any friendly way, Lord Salisbury 



353 



offered to submit to arbitration any questions in respect to ter- 
ritory west of Schomburgk's line of 1840, but insisted on ad- 
mission of the British claim to all parts to the east of that 
line. 

The Venezuelan Government has on three occasions since 
the rupture sent accredited agents to London to negotiate for 
a restoration of diplomatic intercourse. Dr. Urbaneja having 
failed, Senor PuHdo succeeded him, and insisted, as his prede- 
cessor had done, upon a preHminary agreement for unreserved 
arbitration, but he was met by a counter proposal for a con- 
ventional boundary line, which was somewhat more favorable 
to Venezuela than that formerly insisted upon, in that it de- 
parted importantly from the Schomburgk line and relin- 
quished claim to the Barima district, on the main branch of 
the Orinoco. Not reaching an accord, Senor Pulido returned 
to Caracas in September, 1890, and the matter rested for a 
time. 

In 1893 Senor Michelena was sent to London as a confi- 
dential agent, bearing a modified proposal to resume diplo- 
matic relations on the basis of the status quo of 1850, and to 
appoint commissioners to determine a conventional boundary, 
leaving to arbitration any question as to which they might fail 
to agree. Lord Rosebery, replying July 3, 1893, treated this 
proposal as a substantial renewal of Venezuela's claim for un- 
conditional arbitration, and in effect declared that the proposed 
settlement of the boundary by a commission could only be 
-entered upon after Venezuela should have relinquished all 
claim to any territory eastward of the line laid down on a map 
submitted to Venezuela 19th March, 1890. This line appears 
to substantially follow Schomburgk's, with some modifica- 
tion. 

Senor Michelena declined this proposition and advanced a 
counter proposition July 31, 1893, to which Lord Rosebery 
replied, September 12, that it did not appear to Her Majesty's 
Government that Senor Michelena's note opened the way to 
any agreement that they could accept concerning this ques- 
tion, but that they were " still desirous to come to an under- 



354 



standing in regard to the frontier between the possessions of 
the two countries,'' and were " disposed to o;ivq their best 
attention to an}- practicable proposals that might be offered 
them to that effect." 

A discussion soon followed touching a scheme for the Brit- 
ish occupation of High Barima and the region to the north- 
west as far as the Orinoco, which elicited from Lord Rose- 
bery, September 22, 1893, the declaration that the acts of 
jurisdiction complained of did not encroach upon Venezuela's 
rights, but were, " in fact, no more than part of the necessary 
administration of a territory which Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment consider to be indisputably a portion of the colony of 
British Guiana, and to which, as it has been their duty to state 
more than once, they can admit no claim on the part of Ven- 
ezuela." Against this declaration Senor Michelena protested 
October 6, 1893; and there the matter now rests. 

The President is inspired by a desire for a peaceable and hon- 
orable adjustment of the existing difficulties between an Amer- 
ican State and a powerful trans- Atlantic nation, and would be 
glad to see the re-establishment of such diplomatic relations 
between them as would promote that end. 

I can discern but two equitable solutions to the present con- 
troversy. One is the arbitral determination of the rights of 
the disputants as the respective successors to the historical 
rights ot Holland and Spain over the region in question. The 
other is to create a new boundary line in accordance with the 
dictates of mutual expediency and consideration. The two 
Governments having so far been unable to agree on a conven- 
tional line, the consistent and conspicuous advocacy by the 
United States and England of the principle of arbitration, and 
their recourse thereto in settlement of important questions 
arising between them, make such a mode of adjustment espe- 
cially appropriate in the present instance, and this Government 
will gladly do what it can to further a determination in that 
sense. 

With these considerations I commit the matter to your 
hands, leaving it to you to avail yourself of any convenient 



355 



opportunity to advance the adjustment of the dispute in ques- 
tion. 

I append for your convenient perusal copy of a memoran- 
dum' on the controversy, which has recently been handed to 
me by the Venezuelan minister at this capital. 

I am, etc, 

W. Q. Gresham. 
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1894. 

[Urgent.] 

The German Charge Affaires at Caracas to Dr. Rojas. 

Imperial Legation of Germany in Venezuela. 

Caracas, November 12th, 1894. 

Mr. Mi?iister : 

Last Thursday, by virtue of a telegraphic communicatiorr 
from my Government, I had the honor, in my character of be- 
ing charged with the protection of British interests in Vene- 
zuela, to present a claim, in the name of the Royal Cabinet of 
Great Britain, against a violation of the frontier of British 
Guiana, perpetrated by Venezuelan soldiers on the Cuyuni 
river. At the same time I expressed the desire of the Eng- 
lish Government that the officer who commands the Vene- 
zuelan troops of the Cuyuni river should receive orders to pro- 
hibit his soldiers from crossing the river, as well as from cut- 
ting trees on its right bank. 

His Excellency had the kindness to offer me an answer, 
after having consulted the Council of Ministers. Wishing a 
solution of the matter satisfactory to the parties interested, I 
would be very grateful to His Excellency if a reply were given 
to me as soon as possible. 

I also take advantage of this opportunity to renew, Mr. 
Minister, the assurances of my most distinguished consid- 
eration. Bodman. 

To His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Relations of the United States of Vene- 
zuela, Mr. P. Ezequiel Rojas , 

^Not printed. 



356 



Dr. Rojas to the German CJiarge d' Affaires. 

Department of Foreign Relations. 
Section of Foreign Public Law. — No. 1389. 

Caracas, November 14th, 1884. 

Ho)wrable Sir : 

The Government of the Republic has taken into considera- 
tion the communication of Your Honor, received at this office 
the day before 3'esterday, when I was absent from Caracas^ 
and in which Your Honor, in reference to the telegram you 
made me acquainted with during the conference of last Thurs- 
day, and in your character of being charged with the protec- 
tion of the British interests in Venezuela, asks with urgency 
an answer in regard to the so-called violation of the frontier 
of British Guiana on the Cuyuni river ; which reply, accord- 
ing to the inference from the expressions used by Your 
Honor, should offer the assurance that the Venezuelan soldiers 
must no longer cross said river, nor cut trees on its right 
bank. 

Your Honor will have already observed that the question 
here treated of is that universally known as the disputed boun- 
dary between the Republic of Venezuela and the English Col- 
ony of Demerara. Since England determined, not long ago, 
to actually occupy the portion of territory in dispute (in which 
the region of the Cuyuni river was not however at first com- 
prised, to which the telegram refers, and which is notori- 
ously Venezuelan territory), the Republic has protested seri- 
ously, reserving to herself the right to vindicate her titles by 
the most righteous means, which since then, moved by a spirit 
of conciliation, she earnestly submitted to the Govern- 
ment of Her Majesty. Repeated new advances of the 
English line of occupation gave cause to other protests, which 
came to be the reiterated invocation of the rights that in this 
contest evidently are in favor of the Republic. 

So, on February 20th, 1887, June 15th and October 29th, 
1888, December i6th, 1889, September ist, 1890, December 
30th, 1891, and finally August 26th and October 6th, 1893 ; 



357 



that is to say, every time that any measure from the Colonial 
Authorities appeared extending the radius of the occupation, 
with manifest transgression of the status quo, agreed upon in 
1850 ; Venezuela has opposed with the voice of right and jus- 
tice the acts exercised by Great Britain within a territory that 
the Republic considers belonging to her, rights based on geo- 
graphical and historical documents of incontestable value, on 
authorities of high repute, many of them English, on local 
traditions worthy of respect, and on facts of jurisdiction of the 
Commissaries or Agents of Her Catholic Majesty, and to be 
found in Public Treaties previous to that of August 13th, 1814, 
whereby Holland ceded to Great Britain her Colonies of Dem- 
erara, Essequibo, and Berbice. 

According to the information of which the Venezuelan Gov- 
ernment is already in possession, that which happened on the 
right bank of the Cuyuni river was caused by a menace from 
the Agent of the Demerara Government, who is called Inspec- 
tor of that region, to a Venezuelan named Loreto Lira, planter, 
established there for a good many years, and from the cutting 
down of trees upon some lands by several of his countrymen 
who arrived there some days after the commemoration of the 
Independence of Venezuela had been celebrated on that bank 
of the river (July 5th), in the house of the same Lira and in 
that of a woman named Manuela Casanas. 

It is known that the same colonial agent from whom the 
threat to Lira had come, stated to him afterwards that he 
could continue his work with complete tranquilHty, and it is 
also known that after the patriotic rejoicings to which they 
gave themselves up, on the before mentioned 5th of July, in 
his house, and in that of Senor Casanas, a captain and eight 
soldiers proceeding from the General Commissariat of the 
Upper Cuyuni river, the successor of Inspector Gallagher, 
named Douglas Barnes, asked permission to cross the river and 
to offer his friendship and respect to the Venezuelan author- 
ities. 

In spite of the manner in which the colonial agents have 
been proceeding in the occupation of the territory which Ven- 
ezuela considers comprised within her limits, it has always been 



358 



recommended, and most earnestly, to the authorities estabUshed 
by the RepubHc within the same zone, that they avoid as far as 
compatible with national decorum, all cause for collision with 
the agents of Demerara, since the Government wishes to solve 
the question of boundary by peaceful means and not to make 
odious this old controversy. 

The assurances now asked, considering the present aspect of 
the question, would be equivalent, as will be easily understood 
by Your Honor, to a tacit declaration in favor of the designs of 
England, and would counteract in fact the protests previously 
made by the Republic, which she still maintains with all its 
vigor, and which I have just again related for a better under- 
standing. And upon stating so to Your Honor, I fulfill the 
duty of renewing, through such a worthy medium, to the 
British Government, the earnest desire of Venezuela of putting 
an end to the vexatious litigation by the use of the peaceful 
resorts counselled by Modern Law, and to which England her- 
self frequently appeals, as being a cultured Nation that has 
colabored in the work of the present civilization. 

Accept, sir, once again, the protests of my distinguished 
consideration. 

P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS. 

To the Honorable Baron de Bodnian, Charge d" Affaires of Germany and charged 
with the protection of the British interests of Venezuela. 



Tlie Ve?iezTiela?L Consul at Demerara to Dr. Rojas. 

[c. Project of a road from the High Barima River to Cuyuni, or to Yuru^n 

River.] 

Consulate of Venezuela in Demerara. — No. 19. 

Georgetown, October 25 th, 1894. 

Mr. Mifiister: 

The proposition of Mr. A. Weber to construct a road from 
the head of the Barima river to the Upper Cuyuni river, or 
to the Yuruan river, of which I spoke to you in my commu- 
nication of the 5th instant, was debated yesterday by the Leg- 



359 



islature, and the Secretary of the Government asked to be 
deferred until the Secretary of State of the Colonial Office ap- 
proves of a petition from the inhabitants of this Colony, asking 
for its authorization to raise a loan of a million dollars for the 
development of the mining and other industries, from which 
sum the necessary amount could be taken to construct the road. 

The Secretary of this Government informed Mr. Weber that 
the Government had already taken some steps with the object 
of finding the most easy means of communicating by road 
between the rivers mentioned, and that the agent of the Gov- 
ernment in the Northwest District is at present in correspond- 
ence with this Government upon the subject. He also says 
that the result of all these investigations shall be submitted to 
the commission to be appointed by the Governor to report upon 
the means more adequate to develop the mining industry. 

It is to be observed that in the discussion of the proposition 
of Mr. Weber (as is seen in the Daily Chronicle, dated to-day, 
which I remit to that Department) the idea of constructing 
that road up to the Yuruan river, which cannot be made with- 
out passing by Venezuelan territory, should not be opposed. 

I am, Mr. Minister, 

Your attentive and constant servant, 

E. PiNAUD. 

To the Minister of Foreign Relations, Caracas. 



(From the Daily Chronicle of October 25th, 1894.) 
[Inclosure — Translation.] 

The Proposed Road from the Bari7na River to the Cuyimi River. 

Mr. Weber proposed the following resolution, of which he 
Tiad given notice : 

"With reference to the resolution of the Combined Court, 
approved in its last session and by which His Excellency the 
Governor and this Honorable Court were authorized to expend 
•certain sums, if they were deemed necessary lor the develop- 
ment of the gold and other industries, except that of sugar ; 

''Resolved, That this Court respectfully ask of His Excel- 



360 



lency the Governor that, at the briefest time possible, he give 
orders to make the plan for a wagon or mule road from the 
point where the Barima river is no longer navigable up to the 
Upper Cuyuni river, and if found practicable, to the Yuruan 
river, with the end of putting these rivers in direct communi- 
cation. " 

He said that His Excellency knew, no doubt, how difficult it 
was to reach that very important District ; that the numerous 
falls of the Cuyuni river made the trip to the Yuruan River so 
troublesome and difficult, that alm.ost seven weeks were required 
to reach that place ; that one private study had already been 
made for a road from the Upper Barima river to the Cuyuni 
river, and it had been found that the journey to this District, 
one of the most important, among the auriferous Districts of 
the Colony, could be made shorter than it is now. He ex- 
pressed the hope that His Excellency would look for a way to 
have that region surveyed with the view of opening a road that, 
besides economizing an immense amount of time and expense 
to those interested in the gold industry of that District, would 
also facilitate a more prompt communication with the Govern- 
ment Station on the Yuruan river, subject-matter the impor- 
tance of which he hardly needed to suggest to the Government. 
Mr. Hunter supported the resolution. 

The Customhouse Inspector, on admitting how beneficial 
such a road would be, said that he would like to suggest an- 
other point; that he believed that in a question as that of 
opening a road, the opinion of a man like Mr. Barnard would be 
of weight ; that this man was of the opinion that the water- 
ways should be utilized as far as possible, and hinted that the 
communication should be opened through canals with boats. 

Mr. Davis thought that they had carried out the idea up to a 
certain degree in the Northwest District, and that they would 
keep the same in mind in the present case. 

The Secretary of Government said that there were two points 
to be considered. In the first place, the amount of money pro- 
posed in the resolution approved by the Combined Court, for 
the development of the gold and other industries, had to be 
raised by means of a loan ; and whilst the Government should 



361 



not importune for the same the approval of the Secretary of 
State, it would be impossible for him to act. Of course no 
time was lost in communicating to the Secretary of State the 
recommendation of the Combined Assembly, and no doubt an 
answer will soon be received. In regard to the other point, 
the honorable member perhaps did not know that as to connect- 
ing these two rivers some considerable study has already been 
made, and some plans have been presented that are still being 
considered. In effect, the Government Agent in the North- 
west District is now in communication with the Government in 
regard to the very matter. The details belonging to it shall be 
presented to the Commission that His Excellency may appoint 
for the carrying out of the resolution approved by the joint 
Assembly in its last session, and he believes, therefore, that the 
honorable member might consent for the present to a postpone- 
ment of the consideration of his proposition. 

Mr. Weber said that it pleased him much to know from the 
Secretary of the Government that the Government understood 
the two aforesaid rivers should be connected, if it were possible. 
He was in accord with the justice of the remarks of the Cus- 
tomhouse Inspector in regard that the communication by canal 
should be preferred, but he said he was afraid that would be 
impossible. 

It is understood that whenever the waterways could be em- 
ployed with advantage, they should be used. With the consent 
of the member who supported it, he asked that the postpone- 
ment of his proposition be allowed, knowing steps were being 
taken for that purpose. 



Dr. Rojas to the Venezuelan Consul at Demerara. 

United States of Venezuela. 
Department of Foreign Relations. 
Direction of Foreign Public Law. — No 1392. 

Caracas, November isth, 1894. 

Mr. Cofisul: 

Your communication of October 25th, Number 19, has re- 
ceived very serious consideration on the part of the Govern- 



362 i 

ment of the Republic, as also the article of the Daily Chronicle 
of the same date, to which you refer with just alarm. If the 
proposition of Mr. A. Weber to the Legislative Chamber of 
the Colony to construct a road from the source of the Barima 
river to the High Cuyuni river, or to the Yuruan river, sig- 
nifies a direct suggestion against our territorial rights, the only 
fact of having taken notice of it and the reasons which the Sec- 
retary of the Government gave for its postponement, are evi- 
dence that the authorities of Demerara design to carry out a 
new act of detention, perhaps for not knowing the measures of 
an administrative character dictated recently to secure the juris- 
diction of Venezuela in that part of the Guayana. 

But, in the grave matter treated of, it is not enough to pre- 
vent the material danger. It is necessary to protect the legal 
status, to the contravention of which the project related to the 
proposition of Mr. Weber visibly tends. 

The question is about territories that Venezuela considers 
belonging to her exclusively ; beliefs supported by historical 
and geographical titles of an unquestionable nature, many of 
which proceed from Enlgish sources, and from anterior and pos- 
terior epochs to that of the Treaty of 1814, which ceded to 
Great Britain one part of Dutch Guiana. 

The Republic has never failed to protest against the acts, the 
result of force only, which have determined the possession by 
England of a considerable portion of Venezuelan Guiana. 
To impede its continuation, the formation was ordered in 1890 
(May 13th) of the Districts Barima-Pomaron and Essequibo- 
Cuyuni ; later on she established a station at the confluence of 
the Yuruan river, and the present Administration decreed the 
Commissariat of the Upper Cuyuni river, as a directing center 
of others that will have to enforce in those sections the juris- 
diction of Venezuela. 

Since the occupation of the extended territories up to the 
Guayana, Barima and Amacuro rivers was effected, she raised 
the voice of protest against the proceeding of Great Britain. 
On the 1 6th of December, 1889, she denounced before the civil- 
ized world, as contrary to the principles that govern the inter- 
national conduct of civilized countries, and as contrary to morals 



363 



as to justice, the decree of Sir Charles Bruce, of the 4th of said 
month and year, which declared Barima as an English colonial 
port. At the same time she reiterated the protests of the 20th 
of February, 1887, and of June 15th, and October 29th, 1888, 
against previous usurpations of Venezuelan territory, and she 
did as much in regard to the act of jurisdiction that the Colony 
had pretended to exercise upon Venezuelan land, when author- 
izing the construction of a road to connect Demerara with the, 
at the time, Venezuelan Federal Territory of Yuruary. On the 
1st of September, 1890, she also raised a formal protest against 
an order issued at Georgetown by the authority of the Governor 
of Demerara, wherein, with the pretext of establishing an addi- 
tional District named " Pomeron " and of altering the demarca- 
tion of the District denominated "Northwest," boundaries 
were fixed contrary to our rights, and visibly directed to the 
extension of the radius of British usurpation. 

Upon establishing the so-called station of the Government 
and Police on the Upper Cuyuni river, Venezuela opposed a 
protest, also solemn, that she raised in the face of all the civil- 
ized countries of the world on the 30th of December, 1891, and 
in which she declared that the acts of Great Britain, to which 
the same document referred were considered performed 
within territory the absolute possession of which the Govern- 
ment of the Republic demanded in virtue of unimpeachable his- 
torical titles, and in the name of the principles of public law. 

Lastly, on August 26th, 1893, when an agent ad hoc was dis- 
cussing in London, by instructions from the Government of the 
Republic, the boundary matter looking to some decorous settle- 
ment, the attention of the Department of Foreign Relations 
of Her Britannic Majesty was called to the fact that purposes of 
exploitation were being announced, on the part of English 
capitalists and under the patronage of the colonial authorities, 
in the extended territory up to the largest outlet of the Orinoco 
river, territory the ownership of which Venezuela has been 
sustaining all along with arguments of right, that to-day stand 
so firm and vahd as at the time of their first exposition. On 
the 6th of October following, a form of a solemn protest was 
given to the beforesaid claim, upon seeing that the British 



364 



Government had not given attention to it as justice demanded. 

Never, neither before the conduct of England had offered in 
this question the character of being pertinacious that for some 
time points her out, nor after, has the Government of Her 
Britannic Majesty presented a single proof or argument to weaken 
a single one of the protests referred to. Whilst England gives 
as a reason demonstrations of force, Venezuela exhibits titles 
of high value, and animated with the most conciliatory spirit, 
urges with solicitude the termination of the dispute in a form 
equally decorous to both parties. She takes refuge in the prac- 
tice of arbitration, judging it most in harmony with the modern 
ideas of right, and she is, now as heretofore, ready to close the 
vexatious affair of limits with the Colony of Demerara, if Great 
Britain, more forgetful oi her material resources than of her es- 
cutcheon as a civilized and cultured nation, does not oppose 
humiliating restrictions to the proposition of the Government 
of the Republic. 

The construction of the projected road from the source of the 
Barima to the Cuyuni, or to the Yuruan river, would produce, 
no doubt, a collision with the authorities of Venezuela in that 
zone, and it would be the cause of a new asperity in a contro- 
versy that to both parties is of import to bring to a most concil- 
iatory position. Be pleased to thus signify this to the Govern- 
ment of that Colony, and to transmit to it, through means you 
may consider most proper, a copy of this communication. 

1 am your very attentive servant. 

P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS. 

To the Consul of Venezuela in Demerara. 



Mr. Gresham to Mr. Bayard. 
No. 548. 

Department of State. 
Washington, December i, 1894. 

Sir: 

On the 13th of July last, in my instruction No. 442, I sum- 
marized the views of this Government in regard to the boundary 



365 



dispute between Great and Venezuela, and inclosed copy of a 
memorandum on the subject which was handed to me by the 
Venezuelan Minister on March 31, 1894. 

In conferences with Senor Andrade, during your recent visit 
home, he doubtless expressed the earnest desire of his Gov- 
ernment for a speedy determination of the question by arbi- 
tration. 

I cannot believe Her Majesty's Government will maintain 
that the validity of their claim to territory long in dispute be- 
tween the two countries shall be conceded as a condition prece- 
dent to the arbitration of the question whether Venezuela is 
entitled to other territory which, until a very recent period, 
was never in doubt. Our interest in the question has re- 
peatedly been shown by our friendly efforts to further a settle- 
ment alike honorable to both countries, and the President is 
pleased to know that Venezuela will soon renew her efforts to 
bring about such an adjustment. 

It is not doubted that you will discreetly exert your influence 
in favor of some plan of honorable settlement. 

I am, sir, etc., 

W. Q. Gresham. 

Foreign Relations of the United States, 1894. 



Mr. Gresham to Mr. Andrade. 

[See "Foreign Relations" of the United States, 1894.] 

Department of State. 
Washington, December 8, 1894. 

Sir: 

On the 31st of March last you addressed to me a note on 
the subject of the disputed boundary between Venezuela and 
British Guiana, accompanied by an historical memorandum 
giving the facts in regard to the controversy as they are under- 
stood by your Government, and on the' 7th of July last, in 
response to my oral request, you furnished me with an addi- 
tional copy of the memoradum in question. 



366 



Referring to our recent conversation, I have the honor to 
inform you that on the 13th of July last, a copy of your memo- 
randum was sent to the United States ambassador in London, 
with instructions to aid, so far as his good offices might be 
found available, a resumption of the suspended diplomatic rela- 
tions between Venezuela and Great Britain, with a view to 
eventual agreement for the disposition of the question by resort 
to arbitration or by any other conventional means comporting 
with the honor and interest of the disputants. Mr. Bayard's 
long familiarity with the question justified the President in in- 
trusting to his sound discretion the further treatment of the 
matter at the Court of St. James in harmony with the declared 
attitude and policy of the United States as the impartial friend 
of both parties to the controversy. 

Since that time Mr. Bayard has been in this country on leave 
of absence, and I am imformed that you have availed yourself 
of the opportunity so afforded to confer with him in respect to 
the matter at issue. 

In view of this, and of my recent conversations with you on 
* this important subject, I shall take an early occasion to instruct 
the ambassador, supplementing my previous dispatch to him of 
July 13th, and I do not doubt his wilHng interest in the matter 
and his cordial desire to contribute toward a better under- 
standing between the two countries and the determination of 
their difference. 

In this relation I may properly advert to the following pass- 
age of the last annual message of the President, which was 
laid before the Congress on the 3d instant: 

The boundary of British Guiana still remains in dispute 
between Great Britain and Venezuela. Believing that its early 
settlement on some just basis alike honorable to both parties, is in 
the line of our established policy to remove from this hemisphere 
all causes of difference with powers beyond the sea, I shall 
renew the efforts heretofore made to bring about a restoration 
of diplomatic relations between the disputants and to induce 
a reference to arbitration, a resort which Great Britain so con- 



367 



spicuously favors in principle and respects in practice, and 
which is earnestly sought by her weaker adversary. 

Accept, etc., 

W. Q. Gresham. 

Mr, Andrade to Mr. Gresham. 

[Translation.] 

Legation of the United States of Venezuela, 

Washington, December 19, 1894. 

Sir: 

A proposition was introduced on the 24th of October last, in 
the legislative chambers of Demerara, for the construction of a 
road uniting the Upper Barima with the Cuyuni or with the 
Yuruan. The Government Secretary asked that action on the 
subject might be deferred until a consultation could be had with 
the Colonial Ministry and until the approval of a petition had 
been obtained which was designed to secure authority to raise 
a large loan, from which was to be taken the amount necessary 
for the construction of the projected road. 

The Government of Venezuela thinks that the design in 
question involves a fresh purpose to unlawfully appropriate the 
territory of the Republic, and that its execution would doubt- 
less give rise to a conflict with the national authorities of that 
district, and would occasion greater acrimony in the boundary 
dispute now pending with the British Colony. Consequently, 
desiring to forestall the construction of the road, it has already 
communicated its views to the colonial Government through 
the Venezuelan Consul at Demerara, and has, furthermore, ad- 
dressed the communication which is reproduced below, to His 
Excellency Seneca Haselton, Envoy Extraordinary and Minis- 
ter Plenipotentiary of the United States in Venezuela, and it 
instructs me to earnestly support the request therein contained: 

''The dispute pending between Venezuela and Great Britain 
on the subject of the boundaries between the RepubHc and the 
Colony of Demerara has for years past, as you are aware, en- 
gaged the attention of the civilized v/orld, and has induced the 
press of many European and American countries (that of the 



368 



United States included) to declare that it must be decided at once 
whether the theoretical equality of states is entitled to real re- 
spect, or whether the prestige of force or the greater material 
power of nations has greater weight than the doctrines and 
principles of right. The question under consideration daily 
presents a more unpleasant aspect, owing to the course pursued 
by the agents of England, who, deaf to the conciliatory repre- 
sentations of Venezuela, have, especially since 1886, extended 
British jurisdiction over territory which the Republic considers 
to belong to it." 

" Repeated attempts have been made during the last eight 
years to settle the dispute by means honorable to both parties, 
as is shown by the sending of three commissioners to London 
with instructions to discuss the matter directly with the Gov- 
erment of Her Britannic Majesty. The most recent attempt was 
made last year, and the Government of Venezuela (as Your 
Excellency will see by a perusal of the Yellow book laid before 
the Congress of 1894) manifested the most earnest desire to put 
an end to the controversy without sacrificing any principle of 
right, but by such legal means as are used and recommended 
by England under similar circumstances. 

The persistency of the British Government in excluding 
from arbitration all that portion of the territory which it has 
held for years, rendered the action of the last commissioner of 
Venezuela null and void ; rendered inefficacious the good inten- 
tions of the Executive of the Republic, and stimulated the am- 
bition of certain agents in the colony who have in view nothing 
but the pleasing prospect presented by a territory exceedingly 
rich in natural resources. Some of them, on the 24th of Octo- 
ber last, procured the introduction in the legislative chamber of 
Demerara, of a proposition looking to the construction of a road 
which is to unite the Upper Barima with the Cuyuni, which in- 
volves a fresh project for the unlawful appropriation of Vene- 
zuelan territory, and the manifest tendency of which is to in- 
crease the difficulty of reaching a peaceable settlement of 
the controversy. 

* * The Secretary of Government requested that the proposition 
should be postponed until he could consult the Colonial De- 



369 



partment, and what was still more important, obtain its ap- 
proval of an application for power to raise a large loan from 
which could be taken the amount necessary to open the pro- 
posed road. 

**The Government of Venezuela, through its Consul at Dem. 
erara, has advised the Governor of the colony that the execution 
of the project (that relating to the road from Barima to Cuyuni) 
would undoubtedly bring about collision with the Venezuelan 
authorities in that region, and would be the cause of further 
embittering a controversy which it is important to both parties 
to put on a more friendly footing. 

**As Your Excellency will understand, the controversy as- 
sumes an appearance which may be called threatening, since the 
authorities of the colony are disposed to extend their jurisdiction 
still further, under pretext of connecting two points in the terri- 
tory of Guiana, and thus to penetrate into regions where the 
Republic has established regular centers of occupation. 

In view of this fact, and the further fact that the Government 
of Venezuela has been constantly endeavoring to exhaust all 
lawful means to reach a friendly understanding, it has thought 
proper to inform your legation of the new danger caused by 
this matter and to press its request, made some time ago to the 
Department of State, and constantly urged by our Minister 
Plenipotentiary at Washington, for the active and direct inter- 
vention of the United States. 

^* The co-operation of Your Excellency will undoubtedly pro- 
duce immediate results, both because it would be based on 
sound reasons and because it will proceed from one who, Hke 
Your Excellency, represents a Republic which unites its most 
■effective action with the practice of justice and of law. And, 
as on the other hand, the Government of the United States, 
without proving recreant to its dearest traditions, cannot view 
with indifference the usurpation of a foreign power over the 
legitimate territories of an American nation, it is to be hoped 
that its moral action will be as ready and decisive as the magni- 
tude and character of the interest endangered call for, demand, 
and most urgently need. 

**The subject I am discussing with Your Excellency is almost 



370 



as serious and important to the great Republic of the North as 
it is to Venezuela herself. England's control over the mouth 
of our great fluvial artery, and over some of its tributaries, will 
be the cause of permanent danger to industry and commerce 
throughout a large portion of the New World, will effectually 
destroy the celebrated and beneficent Monroe Doctrine, and will 
perpetuate measures of usurpation which may in the future, in 
the case of certain American countries, render illusory their 
political existence as free and independent States. 

"I most urgently request Your Excellency to be good 
enough to express the foregoing view to the Government of the 
United States." 

I avail myself of the opportunity to renew to Your Excel- 
lency the assurances of my high and distinguished consideration. 

Jose Andrade. 



Mr. Haseltoji to Mr. Gresham. 
No. 32. 

Foreign Relations of the United States. 
Legation of the United States, 

Caracas, December 21, 1894. 

Sif : 

The Government of Venezuela manifest in many ways a cor- 
dial appreciation of that portion of the message of the Presi- 
dent of the United States which relates to the boundary ques- 
tion pending between this country and Great Britain, and by a 
communication, a copy and translation of which are inclosed, 
has requested me to transmit to the President, through the De- 
partment of State, the expression on its part of the ideas and 
sentiments therein contained. 

I have, etc., 

Seneca Haselton. 



371 



Mr. Rojas to Mr. Haseltoii. 

[Inclosure in No. 32. — Translation.] 

From Foreign Relations " of the U. S., 1894. 
Most Excellent Sir: 

The message sent by His Excellency, Mr. Cleveland, to the 
Congress of the United States at the opening of the present 
session contains expressions relative to our question with Eng- 
land which speak much for the spirit of equity and true Amer- 
icanism of the great Republic. 

In effect the message invokes the principle of arbitration as 
adequate to the settlement of the dispute ; it advocates its 
adoption as a resort honorable to both parties ; it notes the 
fact that Venezuela, the weaker power, earnestly desires arbi- 
tration, and it gives assurance that the voice of the great Amer- 
ican nation will be heard in favor of a decorous and peaceful 
solution of this vexatious matter of difference. 

Venezuela, most excellent sir, has noted with singular grati- 
tude this noble proof of concern for her tranquillity and her 
honor, and the Government of which I form a part, as the au- 
thorized interpreter of the national sentiment, earnestly desires 
that the most excellent Mr. Cleveland should know of the 
grateful impression here produced by his eloquent words, and 
should be made acquainted with the appreciation on the part of 
this Republic of the generous offices which, in the furtherance 
of an adjustment between England and Venezuela, he, in the 
above-mentioned portion of his notable message, promises to 
exercise. 

The executive power trusts that your worthy legation will be 
pleased to transmit to the President of the United States, 
through the medium of the Department of State, the expres- 
sion of the foregoing sentiments, and in so requesting, 

I have, etc., 

P. EzEQUiEL Rojas. 



372 



Mr. Andradc to Mr. Gresham. 

[Translation.] 

Legation of Venezuela. 
Washington, December 31, 1894. 

Bir : 

The Government of Venezuela has seen with great interest 
the words used by His Excellency, Mr. Cleveland, in speaking 
of the Guiana boundary question in his message of this year to 
the Congress of the United States, and has hastened to give 
expression of its gratitude and satisfaction, and to become the 
interpreter of the national sentiment in the communication 
which has been addressed by the department of foreign rela- 
tions to the honorable head of the United States legation at 
Caracas, and which I have the honor to transcribe below : 

''The message of His Excellency, President Cleveland, to 
the United States Congress, which met early in the present 
month, contains passages relative to our controversy with Eng- 
land which speak volumes for the spirit of justice and the thor- 
ough Americanism of that eminent statesman. The principle 
of arbitration is there invoked as being that which is best 
calculated to put an end to the dispute ; its adoption is recom- 
mended as the best means of protecting the honor of both par- 
ties ; it is declared that Venezuela, the weaker party, eagerly 
desires it, and the promise is given that the voice of the great 
American nation will make itself heard in behalf of an honor- 
able and peaceable settlement of the wearysome dispute. 

" Venezuela, most excellent sir, has witnessed with singular 
gratitude the noble evidence of a desire to secure her tranquil- 
lity and honor ; and the Government of which I am a member, 
being the natural interpreter of the national sentiment, earn- 
estly desires that His Excellency, President Cleveland, should 
be made aware of the pleasing impression which has been 
caused here by his eloquent words, and that he should know 
that he may rely upon the thankfulness of the RepubHc for the 
generous offices which, in behalf of a satisfactory arrangement 
between England and Venezuela, he promises in that remarka- 
ble document to exercise. 



373 



The Executive of this Republic hopes that your honorable 
legation will be pleased to transmit the expression of these 
feelings to His Excellency, the President of the United States, 
through the Department of State, and in informing Your Ex- 
cellency of this I have the honor to renew to you the sincere 
assurances of my high consideration," etc. 

By means of the foregoing reproduction I have taken pleas- 
ure in performing in the most faithful manner, according to my 
judgment, the honorable task which His Excellency, the Min- 
ister of Foreign Relations has seen fit to entrust to me, viz. , 
that of communicating to Your Excellency the sentiments ex- 
pressed in the note above inserted, he having desired that the 
expression of the gratitude of the Venezuelan Government 
should reach President Cleveland through two channels at once, 
z. e., through Mr. Haselton and through me. 

I avail, etc., 

Jose Andrade. 

JotTif Resolutioji by the U. S. Congress. 
53D CONGRESS, 3D SESSION, H. RES. 252. 

In the House of Representatives. 

January 10, 1895. 
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered 
to be printed. 

Mr. Livingston introduced the following joint resolution : 

JOINT resolution 

relative to the British Venezuelan-Guiana boundary dispute. 

Whereas, In the present enlighted age of the world, when 
international disputes in general, and more particularly those 
pertaining to boundary, are in constant process of adjustment 
by joint commission or by outside arbitration ; and 

Whereas, Since the existing boundary dispute in Guiana be- 
tween Great Britain and Venezuela ought not to constitute an 
exception to the general rule, but should more naturally come 
within the scope and range of modern international precedent 



374 

and practice, in that it turns exclusively upon simple and 
readily ascertainable historical facts ; and 

Whereas, Since it would be extremely gratifying to all peace- 
loving peoples, and particularly to the impartial friends of both 
parties, to see this long-standing and disquieting boundary 
dispute in Guiana adjusted in a manner just and honorable 
alike to both, to the end that possible international complica- 
tions be avoided and American public law and traditions main- 
tained : Therefore, be it 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
President's suggestion, made in his last annual message to this 
body, namely, that Great Britain and Venezuela refer their 
dispute as to boundary to friendly arbitration, be earnestly 
recommended to the favorable consideration of both the parties 
in interest. 

The resolution, in this form, passed unanimously in the 
House, February 7, 1896, when it was transmitted to the Sen- 
ate, which struck out the preamble, and then passed the resolu- 
tion, by unanimous vote, in the following form, which was 
concurred in by the House : 

"THE BRITISH-VENEZUELA-GUIANA BOUNDARY DISPUTE. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
President's suggestion, made in his last annual message to this 
body, namely, that Great Britain and Venezuela refer their dis- 
pute as to the boundary to friendly arbitration, be earnestly 
recommended to the favorable consideration of both the parties 
in interest." 

PART XIV. 

Extract from President Clevela?id's A?mual Message of December 

2, 1895. 

It being apparent that the boundary dispute between Great 
Britain and the Republic of Venezuela concerning the limits of 
British Guiana was approaching an acute stage, a definite state- 
ment of the interest and policy of the United States as regards 



375 



th^ controversy seemed to be required both on its own account 
and in view of its relations with the friendly powers directly 
concerned. In July last, therefore, a dispatch was addressed 
to our embassador at London for communication to the Brit- 
ish Government, in which the attitude of the United States was 
distinctly set forth. The general conclusions therein reached 
and formulated are in substance that the traditional and estab- 
lished policy of this Government is firmly opposed to a forcible 
increase by any European power of its territorial possessions 
on this continent ; that this policy is as well founded in prin- 
ciple as it is strongly supported by numerous precedents ; 
that as a consequence the United States is bound to protest 
against the enlargement of the area of British Guiana in dero- 
gation of the rights and against the will of Venezuela; that, 
considering the disparity in strength of Great Britain and 
Venezuela, the territorial dispute between them can be reason- 
ably settled only by friendly and impartial arbitration, and 
that the resort to such arbitration should include the whole 
controversy, and is not satisfied if one of the powers concerned 
is permitted to draw an arbitrary line through the territory in 
debate and to declare that it will submit to arbitration only 
the portion lying on one side of it. In view of these conclu- 
sions, the dispatch in question called upon the British Govern- 
ment for a definite answer to the question whether it would or 
would not submit the territorial controversy between itself and 
Venezuela in its entirety to impartial arbitration. The answer 
of the British Government has not yet been received, but is 
expected shortly, when further communication on the subject 
will probably be made to the Congress. 



Special Message of President Cleveland Relative to the Venezuelan 
Boundary Controversy, Dec. 17, 1895. 

To the Congress : 

In my annual message addressed to the Congress on the 
third instant I called attention to the pending boundary con- 



376 



troversv between Great Britain and the Republic of Venezuela 
and recited the substance of a representation made by this 
Government to Her Britannic Majest3''s Government suggest- 
ing reasons why such dispute should be submitted to arbitra- 
tion for settlement, and inquiring whether it would be so 
submitted. 

The answer of the British Government, which was then 
awaited, has since been received and, together with the dis- 
patch to which it is a replv, is hereto appended. 

Such replv is embodied in two communications addressed 
by the British Prime Minister to Sir Julian Pauncefote, the Brit- 
ish Ambassador at this capital. It will be seen that one of 
these communications is devoted exclusively to observations 
upon the Monroe doctrine, and claims that in the present in- 
stance a new and strange extension and development of this 
doctrine is insisted on by the United States, that the reasons 
Justifying an appeal to the doctrine enunciated by President 
Monroe are generally inapplicable " to the state of things in 
which we live at the present day," and especially inapplicable 
to a controversy involving the boundary line between Great 
Britain and Venezuela. 

Without attempting extended argument in reply to these 
positions, it may not be amiss to suggest that the doctrine 
upon which we stand is strong and sound because its enforce- 
ment is important to our peace and safety as a nation, and is 
essential to the integrity of our free institutions and the tran- 
quil maintenance of our distinctive form of government. It 
was intended to apply to every stage of our national life, and 
cannot become obsolete while our Republic endures. If 
the balance of power is justly a cause for jealous anxiety 
among the governments of the old world, and a subject for our 
absolute non-interference, none the less is an observance of the 
Monroe doctrine of vital concern to our people and their gov- 
ernment. 

Assuming, therefore, that we may properly insist upon this 
doctrine without regard to "the state of things in which we 
live," or any changed conditions here or elsewhere, it is not 



377 



apparent why its application may not be invoked in the pres- 
ent controversy. 

If an European power, by an extension of its boundaries, takes 
possession of the territory of one of our neighboring Republics 
against its will and in derogation of its rights, it is difficult to 
see why to that extent such European power does not thereby 
attempt to extend its system of Government to that portion of 
this continent which is thus taken. This is the precise action 
which President Monroe declares to be '* dangerous to our 
peace and safety," and it can make no difference whether the 
European system is extended by an advance of frontier or 
otherwise. 

It is also suggested in the British reply that we should not 
seek to apply the Monroe doctrine to the pending dispute be- 
cause it does not embody any principle of international law 
which *• is founded on the general consent of nations," and that 
** no statesman, however eminent, and no nation, however pow- 
erful, are competent to insert into the code of international law 
a novel principle which was never recognized before, and which 
has not since been accepted by the Government of any other 
country. 

Practically the principle for which we contend has peculiar 
if not exclusive relation to the United States. It may not have 
been admitted in so many words to the code of international 
law, but since in international councils every nation is entitled 
to the rights belonging to it, if the enforcement of the Monroe 
doctrine is something we may justly claim, it has its place in 
the code of international law as certainly and as securely as if 
it were specifically mentioned, and where the United States is 
a suitor before the high tribunal that administers international 
law, the question to be determined is whether or not we present 
claims which the justice of that code of law can find to be right 
and valid. 

The Monroe doctrine finds its recognition in those princi- 
ples of international law which are based upon the theory that 
every nation shall have its rights protected and its just claims 
enforced. 



378 



Of course this Government is entirely confident that under 
the sanction of this doctrine we have clear rights and undoubt- 
ed claims. Nor is this ignored in the British reply. The 
Prime Minister, while not admitting that the Monroe doctrine 
is applicable to present conditions, states : In declaring that 
the United States would resist anv such enterprise if it was 
contemplated, President Monroe adopted a policy which re- 
ceived the entire svmpathv of the English Government of that 
date." He further declares : "Though the language of Presi- 
dent Monroe is directed to the attainment of objects which 
most Englishmen would agree to be salutary-, it is impossible 
to admit that thev have been inscribed bv any adequate 
authoritv in the code of international law." Again he says : 

Thev (Her Majesty's Government) fully concur with the 
view which President Monroe apparently entertained, that any 
disturbance of the existing territorial distribution in the hemis- 
phere by any fresh acquisitions on the part of d.ny European 
State, would be a highly inexpedient change." 

In the belief that the doctrine for w^hich we contend was 
clear and definite, that it was founded upon substantial consid- 
erations and involved our safetv and welfare, that it was fully 
applicable to our present conditions and to the state of the 
Avorld's progress and that it was directly related to the pending 
controversy and without any conviction as to the final merits 
of the dispute, but anxious to learn in a satisfactory and con- 
clusive manner whether Great Britain sought, under a claim of 
boundary, to extend her possessions on this continent without 
right, or whether she merely sought possession of territory 
fairlv included within her lines of ownership, this Government 
proposed to the Government of Great Britain a resort to arbi- 
tration as the proper means of settling the question to the end 
that a vexatious boundary dispute between the two contestants 
might be determined and our exact standing and relation in 
respect to the controversv might be made clear. 

It will be seen from the correspondence herewith submitted 
that this proposition has been declined bv the British Govern- 
ment, upon grounds which in the circumstances seem to me to 



379 



be far from satisfactory. It is deeply disappointing that such 
an appeal, actuated by the most friendly feelings towards both 
nations directly concerned, addressed to the sense of justice 
and to the magnanimity of one of the great powers of the 
world and touching its relations to one comparatively weak 
and small, should have produced no better results. 

The course to be pursued by this Government in view of the 
present condition does not appear to admit of serious doubt. 
Having labored faithfully for many years to induce Great 
Britain to submit this dispute to impartial arbitration, and hav- 
ing been now finally apprized of her refusal to do so, nothing 
remains but to accept the situation, to recognize its plain re- 
quirements and deal with it accordingly. Great Britain's pres- 
ent proposition has never thus far been regarded as admissible 
by Venezuela, though any adjustment of the boundary which 
that country may deem for her advantage and may enter into 
of her own free will cannot of course be objected to by the 
United States. 

Assuming, however, that the attitude of Venezuela will re- 
main unchanged, the dispute has reached such a stage as to make 
it now incumbent upon the United States to take measures to 
determine with sufficient certainty for its justification what is 
the true divisional line between the Republic of Venezuela and 
British Guiana. The inquiry to that end should of course be 
conducted carefully and judicially, and due weight should be 
given to all available evidence records and facts in support of 
the claims of both parties. 

In order that such an examination should be prosecuted in a 
thorough and satisfactory manner, I suggest that the Congress 
make an adequate appropriation for the expenses of a Com- 
mission, to be appointed by the Executive, who shall make the 
necessary investigation and report upon the matter with the 
least possible delay. When such a report is made and accepted, 
it will in my opinion be the duty of the United States to resist 
by every means in its power as a willful aggression upon its 
rights and interests the appropriation by Great Britain of any 
lands or the exercise of governmental jurisdiction over any ter- 



380 



ritory which after investigation we have determined of right 
belongs to Venezuela. 

In making these recommendations I am fully alive to the 
responsibility incurred, and keenly realize all the consequences 
that may follow. 

I am nevertheless firm in my conviction that while it is a 
grievous thing to contemplate the two great English-speaking 
peoples of the world as being otherwise than friendly com- 
petitors in the onward march of civilization, and strenuous and 
worthy rivals in all the arts of peace, there is no calamity which 
a great nation can invite which equals that which follows a 
supine submission to wrong and injustice and the consequent 
loss of national self-respect and honor beneath which are 
shielded and defended a people's safety and greatness. 

Grover Cleveland. 

Executive Mansion, 

December 17, 1895. 



Mr. Ohiey to Mr. Bayard. 

(No. 804.) 

Department of State. 
Washington, July 20, 1895. 

His Excelle7icy Thomas F. Bayard, etc., etc., etc., Lofidon: 

Sir : — I am directed by the President to communicate to you 
his views upon a subject to which he has given much anxious 
thought and respecting which he has not reached a conclusion 
without a lively sense of its great importance as well as of the 
serious responsibility involved in any action now to be taken. 

It is not proposed, and for present purposes is not necessary, 
to enter into any detailed account of the controversy between 
Great Britain and Venezuela respecting the western frontier of 
the Colony of British Guiana. The dispute is of ancient date 
and began at least as early as the time when Great Britain 
acquired by the treaty with the Netherlands of 18 14 "the 



381 



establishments of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice." From 
that time to the present the dividing line between these 
''establishments" (now called British Guiana) and Venezuela 
has never ceased to be a subject for contention. The claims 
of both parties, it must be conceded, are of a somewhat in- 
definite nature. On the one hand, Venezuela, in every consti- 
tution of government since she became an independent State, 
has declared her territorial limits to be those of the Captaincy 
General of Venezuela in iSio. Yet, out of " moderation and 
prudence," it is said, she has contented herself with claiming 
the Essequibo line^ — the line of the Essequibo River, that 
is — to be the true boundary between Venezuela and British 
Guiana. On the other hand, at least an equal degree of in- 
definiteness distinguishes the claim of Great Britain. 

It does not seem to be asserted, for instance, that in 1814 
the "establishments" then acquired by Great Britain had any 
clearly defined western limits which can now be identified and 
which are either the limits insisted upon to-day, or, being the 
original limits, have been the basis of legitimate territorial 
extensions. On the contrary, having the actual possession of a 
district called the Pomaron district, she apparently remained 
indifferent as to the exact area of the colony until 1840, when 
she commissioned an engineer, Sir Robert Schomburgk, to ex- 
amine and lay down its boundaries. The result was the Schom- 
burgk line which was fixed by metes and bounds, was delineated 
' on maps, and was at first indicated on the face of the country 
itself by posts, monograms, and other like symbols. If it was 
expected that Venezuela would acquiesce in this line, the ex- 
pectation was doomed to speedy disappointment. Venezuela 
at once protested and with such vigor and to such purpose 
that the line was explained to be only tentative — part of a 
general boundary scheme concerning Brazil and the Nether- 
lands as well as Venezuela — and the monuments of the line set 
up by Schomburgk were removed by the express order of Lord 
Aberdeen. Under these circumstances, it seems impossible to 
treat the Schomburgk line as being the boundary claimed by 
Great Britain as a matter of right, or as anything but a line 



382 



originating in considerations of convenience and expediency. 
Since 1840 various other boundary lines have from time to 
time been indicated by Great Britain, but all as conventional 
lines — lines to which Venezuela's assent has been desired but 
which in no instance, it is believed, has been demanded as 
matter of right. Thus neither of the parties is to-day standing 
for the boundary line predicated upon strict legal right — Great 
Britain having formulated no such claim at all, while Vene- 
zuela insists upon the Essequibo line only as a liberal concession 
to her antagonist. 

Several other features of the situation remain to be briefly 
noticed — the continuous growth of the undefined British claim, 
the fate of the various attempts at arbitration of the contro- 
versy, and the part in the matter heretofore taken by the United 
States. As already seen, the exploitation of the Schomburgk 
line in 1840 was at once followed by the protest of Venezuela 
and by the proceedings on the part of Great Britain which 
could fairly be interpreted only as a disavowal of that line. 
Indeed — in addition to the facts already noticed — Lord Aber- 
deen himself in 1844 proposed a line beginning at the river 
Moroco, a distinct abandonment of the Schomburgk line. Not- 
withstanding this, however, every change in the British claim 
since that time has moved the frontier of British Guiana farther 
and farther to the westward of the line thus proposed. The Gran- 
ville line of 1 88 1 placed the starting point at a distance of twenty- 
nine miles from the Moroco in the direction of Punta Barima. The 
Rosebery line of 1886 placed it west of the Guaima river, and 
about that time, if the British authority known as the States- 
man's Year Book is to be relied upon, the area of British 
Guiana was suddenly enlarged by some 33,000 square miles — 
being stated as 76,000 square miles in 1885 and 109,000 square 
miles in 1887. The Salisbury line of 1890 fixed the starting 
point of the line in the mouth of the Amacuro west of the 
Punta Barima on the Orinoco. And finally, in 1893, a second 
Rosebery line carried the boundary from a point to the west 
of the Amacuro as far as the source of the Cumano river and 
the Sierra of Usupamo. Nor have the various claims thus 



383 



enumerated been claims on paper merely. An exercise of juris- 
diction corresponding more or less to such claims has accom- 
panied or followed closely upon each and has been the more 
irritating and unjustifiable if, as is alleged, an agreement made 
in the year 1850 bound both parties to refrain from such occu- 
pation pending the settlement of the dispute. 

While the British claim has been developing in the manner 
above described, Venezuela has made earnest and repeated 
efforts to have the question of boundary settled. Indeed, al- 
lowance being made for the distractions of a war of independ- 
ence and for frequent internal revolutions, it may be fairly said 
that Venezuela has never ceased to strive for its adjustment. 
It could, of course, do so only through peaceful methods, any 
resort to force as against its powerful adversary being out of 
the question. Accordingly, shortly after the drawing of the 
Schomburgk line, an effort was made to settle the boundary 
by treaty and was apparently progressing towards a successful 
issue when the negotiations were brought to an end in 1844 by 
the death of the Venezuelan plenipotentiary. 

In 1 848 Venezuela entered upon a period of civil commotions 
which lasted for more than a quarter of a century, and the 
negotiations thus interrupted in 1844 were not resumed until 
1876. In that year Venezuela offered to close the dispute by 
accepting the Moroco line proposed by Lord Aberdeen. But, 
without giving reasons for his refusal. Lord Granville rejected 
the proposal and suggested a new line comprehending a large 
tract of territory all pretension to which seemed to have been ^ 
abandoned by the previous action of Lord Aberdeen. Vene- 
zuela refused to assent to it, and negotiations dragged along 
without result until 1882, when Venezuela concluded that the 
only course open to her was arbitration of the controversy. 
Before she had made any definite proposition, however. Great 
Britain took the initiative by suggesting the making of a treaty 
which should determine various other questions as well as that 
of the disputed boundary. The result was that a treaty was 
practically agreed upon with the Gladstone government in 1886 
containing a general arbitration clause under which the parties 



384 



might have submitted the boundary dispute to the decision of 
a third power or of several powers in amity with both. 

Before the actual signing of the treaty, however, the admin- 
istration of Mr. Gladstone was superseded by that of Lord 
Salisbury, which declined to accede to the arbitration clause of 
the treaty notwithstanding the reasonable expectations of Ven- 
ezuela to the contrary based upon the Premier's emphatic 
declaration in the House of Lords that no serious government 
would think of not respecting the engagements of its predeces- 
sor. Since then Venezuela on the one side has been offering 
and calling for arbitration, while Great Britain on the other 
has responded by insisting upon the condition that any arbitra- 
tion should relate only to such of the disputed territory as lies 
west of a line designated by herself. As this condition seemed 
inadmissible to Venezuela and as, while the negotiations were 
pending, new appropriations of what is claimed to be Vene- 
zuelan territory continued to be made, Venezuela in 1887 
suspended diplomatic relations with Great Britain, protesting 

before Her British Majesty's Government, before all civilized 
nations, and before the world in general, against the acts of 
spoliation committed to her detriment by the Government of 
Great Britain, which she at no time and on no account will 
recognize as capable of altering in the least the rights which 
she has inherited from Spain and respecting which she will ever 
be willing to submit to the decision of a third power." 

Diplomatic relations have not since been restored, though 
what is claimed to be new and flagrant British aggressions 
forced Venezuela to resume negotiations on the boundary 
question — in 1890, through its Minister in Paris and a special 
envoy on that subject — and in 1893, through a confidential 
agent, Seiior Michelena. These negotiations, however, met 
with the fate of other like previous negotiations — Great Britain 
refusing to arbitrate except as a territory west of an arbitrary 
line drawn by herself. All attempts in that direction definitely 
terminated in October, 1893, when Senor Michelena filed with 
the Foreign Office the following declaration : 

"I perform a most strict duty in raising again in the name 



385 



of the Government of Venezuela a most solemn protest against 
the proceedings of the Colony of British Guiana, constituting 
encroachments upon the territory of the Republic, and against 
the declaration contained in Your Excellency's communication 
that Her Britannic Majesty's Government considers that part 
of the territory as pertaining to British Guiana and admits no 
claim to it on the part of Venezuela. In support of this pro- 
test I reproduce all the arguments presented to Your Excel- 
lency in my note of 29 of last September and those which have 
been exhibited by the Government of Venezuela on the various 
occasions they have raised the same protest. 

I lay on Her Britannic Majesty's Government the entire 
responsibility of the incidents that may arise in the future from 
the necessity to which Venezuela has been driven to oppose by 
all possible means the disposition of a part of her territory, 
for by disregarding her just representation to put an end to 
this violent state of affairs through the decision of arbiters. 
Her Majesty's Government ignores her rights and imposes 
upon her the painful though peremptory duty of providing for 
her own legitimate defense." 

To the territorial controversy between Great Britain and 
the Republic of Venezuela, thus briefly outlined, the United 
States has not been and, indeed, in view of its traditional 
policy, could not be indifferent. The note to the British 
Foreign Office by which Venezuela opened negotiations in 
1876 was at once communicated to this Government. In Janu- 
ary, 1 88 1, a letter of the Venezuelan Minister at Washington, 
respecting certain alleged demonstrations at the mouth of 
the Orinoco, was thus answered by Mr. Evarts, then Secretary 
of State : 

" In reply I have to inform you that in view of the deep 
interest which the Government of the United States takes in 
all transactions tending to attempted encroachments of foreign 
powers upon the territory of any of the Republics of this con- 
tinent, this Government could not look with indifference to the 
forcible acquisition of such territory by England if the mission 
of the vessels now at the mouth of the Orinoco should be 



386 



found to be for that end. This Government awaits, therefore, 
with natural concern the more particular statements promised 
by the Government of Venezuela, which it hopes will not be 
lonor delaved." 

o 

In the February following, Mr. Evarts wrote again on the 
same subject as follows : 

" Referrinof to vour note of the 2 1 st of December last, touch- 
ing the operations of certain British war vessels in and near 
the mouth of the Orinoco River and to my reply thereto of 
the 31st ultimo as well as to the recent occasions in which the 
subject has been mentioned in our conferences concerning the 
business of your mission, I take it to be fitting now at the close 
of mv incumbencv of the office I hold to advert to the interest 
with which the Government of the United States cannot fail to 
regard anv such purpose with respect to the control of Ameri- 
can territorv as is stated to be contemplated by the Govern- 
ment of Great Britain and to express my regret that the further 
information promised in vour note with regard to such designs 
had not reached me in season to receive the attention which, 
notwithstanding the severe pressure of public business at the 
end of an administrative term, I should have taken pleasure in 
bestowing upon it. I doubt not, however, that vour represen- 
tations in fulfillment of the awaited additional orders of your 
Government will have like earnest and solicitous consideration 
at the hands of my successor." 

In November, 1882, the then state of negotiations with 
Great Britain together with a copy of an intended note suggest- 
ing recourse to arbitration was communicated to the Secretarv 
of State bv the President of Venezuela with the expression of 
the hope that the United States would give him its opinion and 
advice and such support as it deemed possible to offer 
Venezuela in order that justice should be done her. Mr. 
Frelinghuysen replied in a dispatch to the United States 
jMinister at Caracas as follows : 

This Government has alread}^ expressed its view that arbi- 
tration of such disputes is a convenient resort in the case of 
failure to come to a mutual understanding, and intimated its 



387 



willingness, if Venezuela should so desire, to propose to Great 
Britain such a mode of settlement. It is felt that the tender 
of good offices would not be so profitable if the United States 
were to approach Great Britain as the advocate of any pre- 
judged solution in favor of Venezuela. So far as the United 
States can counsel and assist Venezuela, it believes it best to 
confine its reply to the renewal of the suggestion of arbitration 
and the offer of all its good offices in that direction. This 
suggestion is the more easily made, since it appears, from the 
instructions sent by Senor Seijas to the Venezuelan Minister in 
London on the same 15th of July, 1882, that the President of 
Venezuela proposed to the British Government the submission 
of the dispute to arbitration by a third power. 

You will take an early occasion to present the foregoing 
considerations to Senor Seijas, saying to him that, while trust- 
ing that the direct proposal of arbitration already made to 
Great Britain may bear good fruit (if, indeed, it has not already 
done so by its acceptance in principle), the Government of the 
United States will cheerfully lend any needful aid to press upon 
Great Britain in a friendly way the proposition so made, and 
at the same time you will say to Senor Seijas (in personal con- 
ference, and not with the formality of a written communication ) 
that the United States, while advocating strongly the recourse 
of arbitration for the adjustment of international disputes 
affecting the States of America, does not seek to put itself for- 
ward as their arbiter ; that, viewing all such questions im- 
partially and with no intent or desire to prejudge their merits, 
the United States will not refuse its arbitration if asked b}' 
both parties, and that, regarding all such questions as es- 
sentially and distinctively American, the United States would 
always prefer to see such contentions adjusted through the 
arbitration of an American rather than an European power." 

In 1884 General Guzman Blanco, the Venezuelan Minister 
to England appointed with special reference to pending nego- 
tiations for a general treaty with Great Britain, visited Wash- 
ington on his way to London and, after several conferences 
with the Secretary of State respecting the objects of his mission, 



388 

was thus commended to the -good offices of I\Ir. Lowell, our 
Minister at St. James": 

It will necessarily be somewhat within your discretion how 
far your good offices may be profitably employed with Her 
IMajesty's Goyernment to these ends, and at any rate you may 
take proper occasion to let Lord Granyille know that we are 
not without concern as to whatever may affect the interests 
of a sister Republic of the American continent and its position 
in the family of nations. 

** If General Guzman should apply to you for adyice or 
assistance in realizing the purposes of his mission, you will show 
him proper consideration, and without committing the United 
States to any determinate political solution, you will endeavor 
to carry out the views of this instruction." 

The progress of Gen. Guzman's negotiations did not fail to 
be observed by this Government, and in December, 1886, with 
a view to preventing the rupture of diplomatic relations — which 
actually took place in February following — the then Secretary 
of State, Mr. Bayard, instructed our Minister to Great Britain 
to tender the arbitration of the United States, in the following 
terms : 

It does not appear that at any time heretofore the good 
offices of this Government have been actually tendered to 
avert a rupture between Great Britain and Venezuela. As in- 
timated in my No. 58, our inaction in this regard would seem 
to be due to the reluctance of Venezuela to have the Govern- 
ment of the United States take any steps having relation to the 
action of the British Government which might, in appearance 
even, prejudice the resort to further arbitration or mediation 
which Venezuela desired. Nevertheless, the records abundantly 
testify our friendly concern in the adjustment of the dispute ; 
and the intelligence now received warrants me in tendering 
through you to Her IMajesty's Government the good offices of 
the United States to promote an amicable settlement of the 
respective claims of Great Britain and Venezuela in the 
premises. 

" As proof of the impartiality with which we view the 



389 



question, we offer our arbitration, if acceptable to both coun- 
tries. We do this with the less hesitancy as the dispute turns 
Tapon simple and readily ascertainable historical facts. 

" Her Majesty's Government will readily understand that 
this attitude of friendly neutrality and entire impartiality 
touching the merits of the controversy, consisting wholly in a 
difference of facts between our friends and neighbors, is entire- 
ly consistent and compatible with the sense of responsibility 
that rests upon the United States in relation to the South 
American republics. The doctrines we announced two gener- 
ations ago, at the instance and with the moral support and ap- 
proval of the British Government, have lost none of their 
force or importance in the progress of time, and the Govern- 
ments of Great Britain and the United States are equally in- 
terested in conserving a status, the wisdom of which has been 
•demonstrated by the experience of more than half a century. 

" It is proper, therefore, that you should convey to Lord 
Iddesleigh, in such sufficiently guarded terms as your discre- 
tion may dictate, the satisfaction that would be felt by the 
Government of the United States in perceiving that its wishes 
in this regard were permitted to have influence with Her Maj- 
esty's Government. " 

This offer of mediation was declined by Great Britain, with 
the statement that a similar offer had already been received from 
another quarter, and that the Queen's Government were still 
not without hope of a settlement by direct diplomatic negotia- 
tions. In February, 1888, having been informed that the 
Governor of British Guiana had by formal decree laid claim 
to the territory traversed by the route of a proposed railway 
from Ciudad Bolivar to Guacipati, Mr. Bayard addressed a 
note to our Minister to England, from which the following 
extracts are taken : 

"The claim now stated to have been put forth by the au- 
thorities of British Guiana necessarily gives rise to grave dis- 
quietude, and creates an apprehension that the territorial 
claim does not follow historical traditions or evidence, but is 
apparently indefinite. At no time hitherto does it appear 



390 



that the district, of which Guacipati is the center, has been 
claimed as British territory or that such jurisdiction has ever been 
asserted over its inhabitants; and if the reported decree of the 
Governor of British Guiana be indeed g-enuine, it is not appar- 
ent how any line of railway from Ciudad Bolivar to Guacipati 
could enter or traverse territory within the control of Great 
Britain. 

"It is true that the line claimed by Great Britain as the west- 
ern boundary of British Guiana is uncertain and vague. It is 
only necessary to examine the British Colonial Office List for 
a few years back to perceive this. In the issue for 1877, for 
instance, the line runs nearly southwardly from the mouth of 
the Amacuro to the junction of the Cotinga and Takutu riv- 
ers. In the issue of 1887, ten years later, it makes a wide de- 
tour to the westward, following the Yuruari. Guacipati lies 
considerably to the westward of the line officially claimed in 
1887, and it ma}- perhaps be instructive to compare w^ith it the 
map which doubtless will be found in the Colonial Office List 
for the present year. 

"It may be well for you to express anew to Lord Salisbury 
the great gratification it would afford this Government to see 
the Venezuelan dispute amicably and honorably settled by ar- 
bitration or otherwise, and our readiness to do anything we 
properly can to assist to that end. 

"In the course of your conversation you may refer to the 
publication in the London Financier of Januar}^ 24 (a copy of 
which you can procure and exhibit to Lord Salisbury ), and ex- 
press apprehension lest the widening pretensions of British 
Guiana to possess territory over which Venezuela's jurisdic- 
tion has never heretofore been disputed may not diminish the 
chances for a practical settlement. 

" If, indeed, it should appear that there is no fixed limit 
to the British boundary claim, our good disposition to aid in a 
settlement might not onl}' be defeated, but be obliged to give 
place to a feeling of grave concern." 

In 1889, information having been received that Barima, at 
the mouth of the Orinoco, had been declared a British port^ 



391 



Mr. Blaine, then Secretary of State, authorized Mr. White to 
confer with Lord Salisbury for the re-establishment of diplo- 
matic relations between Great Britain and Venezuela on the 
basis of a temporary restoration of the status quo, and May i 
and May 6, 1890, sent the following telegrams to our Minister 
to England, Mr. Lincoln: (May i, 1890) — 

"Mr. Lincoln is instructed to use his good offices with Lord 
Salisbury to bring about the resumption of diplomatic inter- 
course between Great Britain and Venezuela as a preliminary 
step towards the settlement of the boundary dispute by arbi- 
tration. The joint proposals of Great Britain and the United 
States toward Portugal which have just been brought about 
would seem to make the present time propitious for submitting 
this question to an international arbitration. He is requested 
to propose to Lord Salisbury, with a view to an accommoda- 
tion, that an informal conference be had in Washington or in 
London of representatives of the three Powers In such con- 
ference the position of the United States is one solely of im- 
partial friendship toward both litigants. 

(May 6, 1890) — 

"It is, nevertheless desired that you shall do all you can 
consistently with our attitude of impartial friendship to induce 
some accord between the contestants by which the merits of 
the controversy may be fairly ascertained and the rights of 
each party justly confirmed. The neutral position of this Gov- 
ernment does not comport with any expression of opinion on 
the part of this Department as to what these rights are, but it 
is confident that the shifting footing on which the British 
boundary question has rested fer several years past is an ob- 
stacle to such a correct appreciation of the nature and grounds 
of her claim as would alone warrant the formation of any 
opinion. " 

In the course of the same year, 1890, Venezuela sent to Lon- 
don a special envoy to bring about the resumption of diplo- 
matic relations with Great Britain through the good offices of 
the United States Minister. But the mission failed because a 
condition of such resumption, steadily adhered to by Vene- 



392 



zuela, was the reference of the boundary dispute to arbitration. 
Since the close of the negotiations initiated by Senor Mich- 
elena in 1893, Venezuela has repeatedly brought the contro- 
versy to the notice of the United States, has insisted upon its 
importance to the United States as well as to Venezuela, has 
represented it to have reached an acute stage — making definite 
action by the United States imperative — and has not ceased to 
solicit the services and support of the United States in aid of 
its final adjustment. These appeals have not been received 
with indifference, and our Ambassador to Great Britain has 
been uniformly instructed to exert all his influence in the di- 
rection of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between 
Great Britain and Venezuela and in favor of arbitration of the 
boundary controversy. The Secretary of State in a communi- 
cation to Mr. Bayard, bearing date July 13, 1894, used the 
following language : 

"The President is inspired by a desire for a peaceable and 
honorable settlement of the existing difficulties between an 
American state and a powerful transatlantic nation, and would 
be glad to see the re-establishment of such diplomatic rela- 
tions between them as would promote that end. 

" I can discern but two equitable solutions of the present 
controversy. One is the arbitral determination of the rights 
of the disputants as the respective successors to the historical 
rights of Holland and Spain over the region in question. The 
other is to create a new boundary line in accordance with the 
dictates of mutual expediency and consideration. The two 
Governments having so far been unable to agree on a conven- 
tional line, the consistent and conspicuous advocacy by the 
United States and England of the principal of arbitration and 
their recourse thereto in settlement of important questions 
arising between them, makes such a mode of adjustment 
especially appropriate in the present instance, and this Govern- 
ment will gladly do what it can to further a determination in 
that sense. " 

Subsequent communications to Mr. Bayard direct him to as- 
certain whether a Minister from Venezuela would be received 



393 



by Great Britain. In the annual Message to Congress of De- 
cember 3d last, the President used the following language : 

"The boundary of British Guiana still remains in dispute 
between Great Britain and Venezuela. Believing that its ear- 
ly settlement, on some just basis alike honorable to both par- 
ties, is in the line of our established policy to remove from 
this hemisphere all causes of difference with the powers be- 
yond the sea, I shall renew the efforts heretofore made to 
bring about a restoration of diplomatic relations between the 
disputants and to induce a reference to arbitration, a resort 
which Great Britain so conspicuously favors in principle and 
respects in practice and which is earnestly sought by her weak- 
er adversary. " 

And February 22, 1895, ^ joint resolution of Congress 
declared 

" That the President's suggestion . . . that Great 
Britain and Venezuela refer their dispute as to boundaries to 
friendly arbitration be earnestly recommended to the favorable 
consideration of both parties in interest." 

The important features of the existing situation, as shown by 
the foregoing recital, may be briefly stated. 

1. The title to territor}- of indefinite but confessedly very 
large extent is in dispute between Great Britain on the one 
hand and the South American Republic of Venezuela on the 
other. 

2. The disparity in the strength of the claimants is such that 
Venezuela can hope to establish her claim only through peaceful 
methods — through an agreement with her adversary either 
upon the subject itself or upon an arbitration. 

3. The controversy, with varying claims on the part of Great 
Britain, has existed for more than half a century, during which 
period many earnest and persistent efforts of Venezuela to 
establish a boundary by agreement have proved unsuccessful. 

4. The futility of the endeavor to obtain a conventional line 
being recognized, Venezuela for a quarter of a century has 
asked and striven for arbitration. 

5. Great Britain, however, has always and continuously 



394 



refused to arbitrate, except upon the condition of a renuncia- 
tion of a large part of the Venezuelan claim and of a concession 
to herself of a large share of the territory in controversy. 

6. By the frecjuent interposition of its good offices at the 
instance of Venezuela, by constantly urging and promoting the 
restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, 
bv pressing for arbitration of the disputed boundary, by offering 
to act as arbitrator, by expressing its grave concern whenever 
new alleged instances of British aggression upon Venezuelan 
territory have been brought to its notice, the Government of 
the United States has made it clear to Great Britain and to the 
world that the controversy is one in which both its honor and 
its interests are involved and the continuance of which it can- 
not regard with indifference. 

The accuracy of the foregoing analysis of the existing status 
cannot, it is believed, be challenged. It shows that status to 
be such that those charged with the interests of the United 
States are now forced to determine exactly what those interests 
are and what course of action they require. It compels them 
to decide to what extent, if any, the United States may and 
should intervene in a controversy between and primarily con- 
cerning only Great Britain and Venezuela and to decide how 
far it is bound to see that the integrity of Venezuelan territory 
is not impaired by the pretensions of its powerful antagonist. 
Are any such right and duty devolved upon the United 
States ? If not, the United States has already done all, if 
not more than all, that a purely sentimental interest in the 
affairs of the two countries justifies, and to push its interposition 
further would be unbecoming and undignified and might well 
subject it to the charge of impertinent intermeddling with 
affairs with which it has no rightful concern. On the other 
hand, if any such right and duty exist, their due exercise and 
discharge will not permit of any action that shall not be ef- 
ficient and that, if the power of the Uuited States is adequate, 
shall not result in the accomplishment of the end in view. The 
question thus presented, as matter of principle and regard being 
had to the settled national policy, does not seem difficult of 



395 



solution. Yet the momentous practical consequences depend- 
ent upon its determination require that it should be carefully 
considered and that the grounds of the conclusion arrived at 
should be fully and frankly stated. 

That there are circumstances under which a nation may justly 
interpose in a controversy to which two or more other nations 
are the direct and immediate parties is an admitted canon of 
international law. The doctrine is ordinarily expressed in 
terms of the most general character and is perhaps incapable 
of more specific statement. It is declared in substance that a 
nation may avail itself of this right whenever what is done or 
proposed by any of the parties primarily concerned is a serious 
and direct menace to its own integrity, tranquillity, or welfare. 
The propriety of the rule when applied in good faith will not 
be questioned in any quarter. On the other hand, it is an 
inevitable though unfortunate consequence of the wide scope 
of the rule, that it has only too often been made a cloak for 
schemes of wanton spoliation and aggrandizement. We are 
concerned at this time, however, not so much with the general 
rule as with a form of it which is peculiarly and distinctively 
American. Washington, in the solemn admonitions of the 
Farewell Address, explicitly warned his countrymen against 
entanglements with the politics or the controversies of Euro- 
pean powers. 

Europe |^he said] has a set of primary interests which to 
us have none or a very remote relation. Hence she must be 
engaged in frequent controversies the causes of which are 
essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must 
be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the 
ordinary vicissitudes of her politics or the ordinary combina- 
tions and collisions of her friendships or enmities. Our de- 
tached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a 
different course." 

During the administration of President Monroe this doctrine 
of the Farewell Address was first considered in all its aspects 
and with a view to all its practical consequences. The Fare- 
well Address, while it took America out of the field of European 



396 



])olitics, was silent as to the part Europe might be permitted 
to plav in America. Doubtless it was thought the latest ad- 
dition to the family of nations should not make haste to pre- 
scribe rules for the guidance of its older members, and the 
expediency and propriety of serving the powers of Europe with 
notice of a complete and distinctive American policy exclud- 
ing them from interference with American political affairs 
might well seem dubious to a generation to whom the French 
alliance, with its manifold advantages to the cause of American 
independence, was fresh in mind. 

Twenty years later, however, the situation had changed. The 
lately born nation had greatly increased in power and resources, 
had demonstrated its strength on land and sea and as well in the 
conflicts of arms as in the pursuits of peace, and had begun to 
realize the commanding position on this continent which the 
character of its people, their free institutions, and their remote- 
ness from the chief scene of European contentions combined 
to give to it. The Monroe administration therefore did not 
hesitate to accept and apply the logic of the Farewell Address 
by declaring in effect that American non-intervention in Euro- 
pean affairs necessarily implied and meant European non-inter- 
vention in American affairs. Conceiving unquestionably that 
complete Enropean non-interference in x\merican concerns 
would be cheaply purchased by complete American non-inter- 
ference in European concerns, President Monroe, in the cele- 
brated ^Message of December 2, 1823, used the following 
language : 

" In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to 
themselves we have never taken any part, nor does it comport 
with our policy to do so. It is only when our rights are in- 
vaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make 
preparations for our defense. With the movements in this 
hemisphere, we are, of necessity, more immediately connected 
and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and 
impartial observers. The political system of the allied powers 
is essentially different in this respect from that of America. 
This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respect- 



V 



397 

ive governments. And to the defense of our own, which has 
been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure and 
matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, 
and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this 
whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor and 
to the amicable relations existing between the United States 
and those powers to declare that we should consider any at- 
tempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of 
this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. 

" With the existing colonies or dependencies of any Euro- 
pean power, we have not interfered and shall not interfere. 
But with the governments who have declared their independence 
and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great 
consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could 
not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, 
or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any Euro- 
pean power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an 
unfriendly disposition towards the United States. 
Our policy in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early 
stage of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of 
the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to in- 
terfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers ; to con- 
sider the government de facto as the legitimate government for 
us ; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those 
relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting, in all 
instances, the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries 
from none. But in regard to these continents, circumstances 
are eminently and conspicuously different. It is impossible 
that the allied powers should extend their political system to 
any portion of either continent without endangering our peace 
and happiness ; nor can anyone believe that our southern breth- 
ren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. 
It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such 
interposition, in any form, with indifference." 

The Monroe administration, however, did not content itself 
with formulating a correct rule for the regulation of the rela- 
tions between Europe and America. It aimed at also securing 



398 



the practical benefits to result from the application of the rule. 
Hence the message just quoted declared that the American 
continents were fully occupied and were not the subjects for 
future colonization by European powers. To this spirit and 
this purpose, also, are to be attributed the passages of the same 
message which treat any infringement of the rule against inter- 
ference in American affairs on the part of the powers of Europe 
as an act of unfriendliness to the United States. It was real- 
ized that it was futile to lay down such a rule unless its observ- 
ance could be enforced. It was manifest that the United States 
was the only power in this hemisphere capable of enforcing it. 
It was therefore courageously declared not merely that Europe 
ought not to interfere in American affairs, but that any Euro- 
pean power doing so would be regarded as antagonizing tbe 
interests and inviting the opposition of the United States. 

That America is in no part open to colonization, though the 
proposition was not universally admitted at the time of its first 
enunciation, has long been universally conceded. We are now 
concerned, therefore, only with that other practical application 
of the Monroe doctrine, the disregard of which by an European 
power is to be deemed an act of unfriendliness towards the 
United States. The precise scope and limitations of this rule 
cannot be too clearly apprehended. It does not establish any 
general protectorate by the United States over other American 
states. It does not relieve any American state from its obliga- 
tions as fixed by international law nor prevent any European 
power directly interested from enforcing such obligations or 
from inflicting merited punishment for the breach of them. It 
does not contemplate any interference in the internal affairs of 
any American state or in the relations between it and other 
American states. It does not justify any attempt on our part 
to change the established form of government of any Ameri- 
can state or to prevent the people of such state from altering 
that form according to their own will and pleasure. The rule 
in question has but a single purpose and object. It is that no 
European power or combination of European powers shall 
forcibly deprive an American state of the right and power of 



399 



self-government and of shaping for itself its own political for- 
tunes and destinies. 

That the rule thus defined has been the accepted public 
law of this country ever since its promulgation cannot fairly 
be denied. Its pronouncement by the Monroe administration 
at that particular time was unquestionably due to the inspira- 
tion of Great Britain, who at once gave to it an open and 
unqualified adhesion which has never been withdrawn. But 
the rule was decided upon and formulated by the Monroe ad- 
ministration as a distinctively American doctrine of great im- 
port to the safety and welfare of the United States after the 
most careful consideration by a Cabinet which numbered among 
its members John Ouincy Adams, Calhoun, Crawford, and 
Wirt, and which before acting took both Jefferson and Madi- 
son into its counsels. Its promulgation was received with 
acclaim by the entire people of the country irrespective of 
party. Three years after, Webster declared that the doctrine 
involved the honor of the country. " I look upon it," he said, 
*' as part of its treasures of reputation, and for one I intend to 
guard it," and he added, 

"I look on the message of December, 1823, as forming a 
bright page in our history. I will help neither to erase it nor to 
tear it out ; nor shall it be by any act of mine blurred or blot- 
ted. It did honor to the sagacity of the Government, and I will 
not diminish that honor." 

Though the rule thus highly eulogized by Webster has never 
been formally affirmed by Congress, the House in 1864 de- 
clared against the Mexican monarchy sought to be set up by 
the French as not in accord with the policy of the United 
States, and in 1889 the Senate expressed its disapproval of the 
connection of any European power with a canal across the 
Isthmus of Darien or Central America. It is manifest that, if 
a rule has been openly and uniformly declared and acted upon 
by the executive branch of the Government for more than 
seventy years without express repudiation by Congress, it must 
be conclusively presumed to have its sanction. Yet it is cer- 
tainly no more than the exact truth to say that every adminis- 



400 



tration since President Monroe's has had occasion, and some- 
times more occasions than one, to examine and consider the 
Monroe doctrine, and has in each instance given it emphatic 
endorsement. Presidents have dwelt upon it in messages to 
Congress, and Secretaries of State have time after time made it 
the theme of diplomatic representation. Nor, if the practical 
results of the rule be sought for, is the record either meager or 
obscure. Its first and immediate effect was indeed most 
momentous and far-reaching. It was the controlling factor in the 
emancipation of South America, and to it the independent states 
which now divide that region between them are largely indebted 
for their very existence. Since then the most striking single 
achievement to be credited to the rule is the evacuation of Mexico 
by the French upon the termination of the civil war. But we 
are also indebted to it for the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer 
treaty, which both neutralized any interoceanic canal across 
Central America and expressly excluded Great Britain from 
occupying or exercising any dominion over any part of Central 
America. It has been used in the case of Cuba as if justifying 
the position that, while the sovereignty of Spain will be re- 
spected, the island will not be permitted to become the posses- 
sion of any other European power. It has been influential in 
bringing about the definite relinquishment of any supposed 
protectorate by Great Britain over the Mosquito Coast. 

President Polk, in the case of Yucatan and the proposed 
voluntary transfer of that country to Great Britain or Spain, 
relied upon the Monroe Doctrine, though perhaps erroneously, 
when he declared in a special message to Congress on the sub- 
ject that the United States could not consent to any such trans- 
fer. Yet, in somewhat the same spirit, Secretary Fish affirmed 
in 1870 that President Grant had but followed "the teachings 
of all our history" in declaring in his annual message of that 
year that existing dependencies were no longer regarded as 
subject to transfer from one European power to another, and 
that when the present relation of colonies ceases they are to 
become independent powers. Another development of the 
rule, though apparently not necessarily required by either its 



401 



letter or its spirit, is found in the objection to arbitration of 
South American controversies by an European power. Ameri- 
can questions, it is said, are for American decision, and on that 
ground the United States went so far as to refuse to mediate in 
the war between Chili and Peru jointly with Great Britain and 
France. Finally, on the ground, among others, that the 
authority of the Monroe doctrine and the prestige of the 
United States as its exponent and sponsor, would be seriously 
impaired, Secretary Bayard strenuously resisted the enforce- 
ment of the Pelletier claim against Hayti. 

"The United States [he said] has proclaimed herself the 
protector of this western world, in which she is by far the 
stronger power, from the intrusion of European sovereignties. 
She can point with proud satisfaction to the fact that over and 
over again has she declared effectively, that serious indeed 
would be the consequences if European hostile foot should, 
without just cause, tread those states in the New World which 
have emancipated themselves from European control. She has 
announced that she would cherish as it becomes her the terri- 
torial rights of the feeblest of those states, regarding them not 
merely as in the eye of the law equal to even the greatest of 
nationalities, but in view of her distinctive policy as entitled to 
be regarded by her as the objects of a peculiarly gracious care. 
I feel bound to say that if we should sanction by reprisals in 
Hayti the ruthless invasion of her territory and insult to her 
sovereignty which the facts now before us disclose, if we 
approve by solemn Executive action and Congressional assent 
that invasion, it will be difficult for us hereafter to assert that 
in the New World, of whose rights we are the peculiar guard- 
ians, these rights have never been invaded by ourselves." 

The foregoing enumeration not only shows the many in- 
stances wherein the rule in question has been affirmed and 
applied, but also demonstrates that the Venezuelan boundary 
controversy is in any view far within the scope and spirit of the 
rule as uniformly accepted and acted upon. A doctrine of 
American public law thus long and firmly established and sup- 
ported could not easily be ignored in a proper case for its 



/ 



402 



application, even were the considerations upon which it is 
founded obscure or questionable. No such objection can be 
made, however, to the Monroe doctrine understood and defined 
in the manner already stated. It rests, on the contrary, upon 
facts and principles that are both intelligible and incontrover- 
tible. That distance and three thousand miles of interveninof 
ocean make any permanent political union between an Euro- 
pean and an American state unnatural and inexpedient will 
hardly be denied. But physical and geographical considera- 
tions are the least of the objections to such a union. Europe, 
as Washington observed, has a set of primary interests which 
are peculiar to herself. America is not interested in them and 
ought not to be vexed or complicated with them. Each great 
European power, for instance, to-day maintains enormous armies 
and fleets in self-defense and for protection against any other 
European power or powers. What have the states of America 
to do with that condition of things, or why should they be 
impoverished by wars or preparations for wars with whose 
causes or results they can have no direct concern ? If all 
Europe were to suddenly fly to arms over the fate of Turkey, 
w^ould it not be preposterous that any American state should 
find itself involved in the miseries and burdens of the contest? 
If it were, it would prove to be a partnership in the cost and 
losses of the struggle but not in any ensuing benefits. 

What is true of the material, is no less true of what may be 
termed the moral interests involved. Those pertaining to 
Europe are peculiar to her and are entirely diverse from those 
pertaining and peculiar to America. Europe as a whole is 
monarchical, and, with the single important exception of the 
Republic of France, is committed to the monarchical prin- 
ciple. America, on the other hand, is devoted to the exactly 
opposite principle — to the idea that every people has an inalien- 
able right of self-government — and, in the United States of 
America, has furnished to the world the most conspicuous and 
conclusive example and proof of the excellence of free insti- 
tutions, whether from the standpoint of national greatness or of 
individual happiness. It cannot be necessary, however, to 



403 



enlarge upon this phase of the subject — whether moral or 
material interests be considered, it cannot but be universally con- 
ceded that those of Europe are irreconcilably diverse from 
those of America, and that any European control of the latter 
is necessarilj both incongruous and injurious. If, however, for 
ithe reasons slatted., the forcible intrusion of European powers 
into American politics is to be deprecated — if, as it is to be 
deprecated, it should be resisted and prevented — such resist- 
ance and prevention must come from the United States. They 
would come from it, of course, were it made the point of 
.attack. But, if they come at all, they must also come from it 
when any other American state is attacked, since only the 
"United States has the strength adequate to the exigency. 

Is it true, then, that the safety and welfare of the United 
iStates are so concerned with the maintenance of the independ- 
.ence of every American state as against any European power 
.as to justify and require the interposition of the United States 
-whenever that independence is endangered? The question can 
be candidly answered in but one way. The states of America, 
iSouth as well as North, by geographical proximity, by natural 
sympathy, by similarity of governmental constitutions, are 
friends and allies, commercially and politically, of the United 
.States. To allow the subjugation of any of them by an Euro- 
pean power is, of course, to completely reverse the situation, 
,and signifies the loss of all the advantages incident to their 
natural relations to us. But that is not all. The people of the 
United States have a vital interest in the cause of popular self- 
government. They have secured the right for themselves and 
their posterity at the cost of infinite blood and treasure. They 
have realized and exemplified its beneficent operation by a 
■career unexampled in point of national greatness or individual 
felicity. They believe it to be for the healing of all nations, 
.and that civilization must either advance or retrograde accord- 
ingly as its supremacy is extended or curtailed. Imbued with 
these sentiments, the people of the United States might not 
impossibly be wrought up to an active propaganda in favor of a 
cause so highly valued both for themselves and for mankind. 



404 



But the age of the Crusades has passed, and they are content 
with such assertion and defense of the right of popular self- 
government as their own security and welfare demand. It is 
in that view more than in any other that they believe it not to^ 
be tolerated that the political control of an American state 
shall be forcibly assumed by an European power. 

The mischiefs apprehended from such a source are none the: 
less real because not immediately imminent in any specific 
case, and are none the less to be guarded against because the 
combination of circumstances that will bring them upon us 
cannot be predicted. The civilized states of Christendom deal 
with each other on substantially the same principles that regu- 
late the conduct of individuals. The greater its enlightenment,, 
the more surely every state perceives that its permanent inter- 
ests require it to be governed b}^ the immutable principles of 
right and justice. Each, nevertheless, is only too liable tO' 
succumb to the temptations offered by seeming special oppor- 
tunities for its own aggrandizement, and each would rashly 
imperil its own safety were it not to remember that for the re- 
gard and respect of other states it must be largely dependent 
upon its own strength and power. To-day the United States- 
is practically sovereign on this continent, and its fiat is law upoa 
the subjects to which it confines its interposition. Why ? It 
is not because of the pure friendship or good will felt for it. 
It is not simply by reason of its high character as a civilized state, 
nor because wisdom and justice and equity are the invariable 
characteristics of the dealings of the United States. It is be- 
cause, in addition to all other g^-ounds, its infinite resources 
combined with its isolated position render it master of the situ- 
ation and practically invulnerable as against any or all other 
powers. 

All the advantages of this superiority are at once imperiled 
if the principle be admitted that European powers may convert 
American states into colonies or provinces of their own. The 
principle would be eagerly availed of, and every power doing 
so would immediately acquire a base of military operations 
against us. What one power was permitted to do could not 



405 



]be denied to another, and it is not inconceivable that the 
^struggle now going on for the acquisition of Africa might be 
-transferred to South America. If it were, the weaker countries 
would unquestionabl}' be soon absorbed, while the ultimate re- 
sult might be the partition of all South America between the 
various European powers. The disastrous consequences to 
the United States of such a condition of things are obvious. 
The loss of prestige, of authority, and of weight in the councils 
of the family of nations would be among the least of them. 
Our only real rivals in peace as well as enemies in war would 
be found located at our very doors. Thus far in our history 
we have been spared the burdens and evils of immense stand- 
ing armies and all the other accessories of huge warlike estab- 
lishments, and the exemption has largely contributed to our 
national greatness and wealth, as well as to the happiness of 
•every citizen. But, with the powers of Europe permanently 
encamped on American soil, the ideal conditions we have thus 
far enjoyed cannot be expected to continue. We too must be 
;armed to the teeth, we too must convert the flower of our male 
population into soldiers and sailors, and by withdrawing them 
from the various pursuits of peaceful industry we too must 
practically annihilate a large share of the productive energy 
^of the natioa. 

How a greater calamity than this could overtake us it is 
difficult to see. Nor are our just apprehensions to be allayed 
^by suggestions of the friendliness of European powers — of 
their good will towards us — of their disposition, should they 
be our neighbors, to dwell with us in peace and harmony. The 
people of the United States have learned in the school of ex- 
perience to what extent the relations of states to each other 
depend not upon sentiment nor principle, but upon selfish in- 
terest. They will not soon forget that, in their hour of distress, 
;all their anxieties and burdens were aggravated by the possi- 
bility of demonstrations against their national life on the part 
•of powers with whom they had long maintained the most har- 
monious relations. They have yet in mind that France seized 
upon the apparent opportunity of our civil war to set up a 



406 



monarchy in the adjoining state of Mexico. They realize that 
had France and Great Britain held important South American 
possessions to work from and to benefit, the temptation to- 
destroy the predominance of the Great Republic in this hemis- 
phere by furthering its dismemberment might have been 
irresistible. From that grave peril they have been saved in the 
past and may be saved again in the future through the opera- 
tion of the sure but silent force of the doctrine proclaimed by 
President Monroe. To abandon it, on the other hand, disre- 
garding both the logic of the situation and the facts of our past 
experience, would be to renounce a policy which has proved 
both an eas}' defense against foreign aggression and a prolific 
source of internal progress and prosperit3\ 

There is, then, a doctrine of American public law, w^ell 
founded in principle and abundantly sanctioned by precedent, 
which entitles and requires the United States to treat as an 
injury to itself the forcible assumption by an European power 
of political control over an American state. The application 
of the doctrine to the boundary dispute between Great Britain 
and Venezuela remains to be made and presents no real differ- 
culty. Though the dispute relates to a boundary- line, yet, as 
it is between states, it necessarily imports political control to^ 
be lost by one party and gained by the other. T"he political 
control at stake, too, is of no mean importance, but concerns a 
domain of great extent — the British claim, it will be remem- 
bered, apparently expanded in two years some 33,000 square 
miles — and, if it also directly involves the command of the 
mouth of the Orinoco, is of immense consequence in con- 
nection with the whole river navigation of the interior of South 
America. It has been intimated, indeed, that in respect of 
these South American possessions Great Britain is herself an 
American state like any other, so that a controversy between 
her and Venezuela is to be settled between themselves as if it 
were between Venezuela and Brazil or between Venezuela and 
Colombia, and does not call for or justify United States inter- 
vention. If this view be tenable at all, the logical sequence is 
plain. 



407 



Great Britain as a South American state is to be entirely 
differentiated from Great Britain generally, and if the bound- 
ary question cannot be settled otherwise than by force, British 
Guiana, with her own independent resources and not those of 
the British Empire, should be left to settle the matter with 
Venezuela — an arrangement which very possibly Venezuela 
might not object to. But the proposition that an European 
power with an American dependency is for the purposes of the 
Monroe doctrine to be classed not as an European but as an 
American state will not admit of serious discussion. If it were 
to be adopted, the Monroe doctrine would be too valueless to 
be worth asserting. Not only would every European power 
now having a South American colony be enabled to extend its 
possessions on this continent indefinitely, but any other 
European power might also do the same by first taking pains 
to procure a fraction of South Am.erican soil by voluntary 
cession. 

The declaration of the Monroe message — that existing 
colonies or dependencies of an European power would not 
be interfered with by the United States — means colonies or 
dependencies then existing, with their limits as then existing. 
So it has been invariably construed, and so it must continue to 
be construed unless it is to be deprived of all vital force. Great 
Britain cannot be deemed a South American state within the 
purview of the Monroe doctrine, nor, if she is appropriating 
Venezuelan territory, is it material that she does so by advanc- 
ing the frontier of an old colony instead of by the planting of 
a new colony. The difference is matter of form and not of 
substance, and the doctrine if pertinent in the one case must be 
in the other also. It is not admitted, however, and therefore 
cannot be assumed, that Great Britain is in fact usurping 
dominion over Venezuelan territory. While Venezuela charges 
such usurpation, Great Britain denies it, and the United States, 
until the merits are authoritatively ascertained, can take sides 
with neither. But while this is so — while the United States 
may not, under existing circumstances at least, take upon it- 
self to say which of the two parties is right and which wrong — 



408 



it is certainly within its right to demand that the truth shall 
be ascertained. Being entitled to resent and resist any 
sequestration of Venezuelan soil by Great Britain, it is neces- 
sarily entitled- to know whether such sequestration has occurred 
or is now going on. Otherwise, if the United States is without 
the right to know and have it determined whether there is or 
is not British aggression upon Venezuelan territory, its right 
to protest against or repel such aggression may be dismissed 
from consideration. 

The right to act upon a fact the existence of which there is 
no right to have ascertained is simply illusory. It being clear, 
therefore, that the United States may legitimately insist upon 
the merits of the boundary question being determined, it is 
equally clear that there is but one feasible mode of determining 
them, viz., peaceful arbitration. The impracticability of any 
conventional adjustment has been often and thoroughly demon- 
strated. Even more impossible of consideration is an appeal 
to arms — a mode of settling national pretensions unhappily 
not yet wholly obsolete. If, however, it were not condem- 
nable as a relic of barbarism and a crime in itself, so one-sided 
a contest could not be invited nor even accepted by Great 
Britain without distinct disparagement to her character as a 
civilized state. Great Britain, however, assumes no such atti- 
tude. On the contrary, she both admits that there is a con- 
troversy and that arbitration should be resorted to for its 
adjustment. But, while up to that point her attitude leaves 
nothing to be desired, its practical effect is completely nullified 
by her insistence that the submission shall cover but a part of 
the controversy — that, as a condition of arbitrating her right 
to a part of the disputed territory, the remainder shall be 
turned over to her. If it were possible to point to a boundary 
which both parties had ever agreed or assumed to be such 
either expressly or tacitly, the demand that territory conceded 
by such line to British Guiana should be held not to be in dis- 
pute might rest upon a reasonable basis. But there is no such 
line. The territory which Great Britain insists shall be ceded 
to her as a condition of arbitrating her claim to other territory 



409 



lias never been admitted to belong to her. It has always and 
•consistently been claimed by Venezuela. 

Upon what principle — except her feebleness as a nation — is 
she to be denied the right of having the claim heard and passed 
upon by an impartial tribunal ? No reason nor shadow of reason 
appears in all the voluminous literature of the subject. ^* It is 
to be so because I will it to be so" seems to be the only justi- 
fication Great Britain offers. It is, indeed, intimated that the 
British claim to this particular territory rests upon an occupa- 
tion, which, whether acquiesced in or not, has ripened into a 
perfect title by long continuance. But what prescription affect- 
ing territorial rights can be said to exist as between sovereign 
states? Or, if there is any, what is the legitimate conse- 
quence? It is not that all arbitration should be denied, but 
only that the submission should embrace an additional topic, 
namely, the vaHdity of the asserted prescriptive title either in 
point of law or in point of fact. No different result follows from 
the contention that as matter of principle Great Britain cannot 
be asked to submit and ought not to submit to arbitration her 
political and sovereign rights over territory. This contention, 
if applied to the whole or to a vital part of the possessions of a 
sovereign state, need not be controverted. To hold otherwise 
might be equivalent to holding that a sovereign state was bound 
to arbitrate its very existence. 

But Great Britain has herself shown in various instances that 
the principle has no pertinency when either the interests or the 
territorial area involved are not of controlling magnitude and 
her loss of them as the result of an arbitration cannot appreci- 
ably affect her honor or her power. Thus, she arbitrated the 
•extent of her colonial possessions twice with the United States, 
twice with Portugal, and once with Germany, and perhaps in 
■other instances. The Northwest Water Boundary arbitration 
of 1872 between her and this country is an example in point 
.and well illustrates both the effect to be given to long-continued 
use and enjoyment and the fact that a truly great power sacri- 
fices neither prestige nor dignity by reconsidering the most 
emphatic rejection of a proposition when satisfied of the ob- 
vious and intrinsic justice of the case. By the award of the 



410 



Emperor of Germany, the arbitrator in that case, the United 
States acquired San Juan and a number of smaller islands near 
the coast of Vancouver as a consequence of the decision that 
the term ' *the channel which separates the continent from Van- 
couver's Island," as used in the treaty of Washington of 1846, 
meant the Haro channel and not the Rosario channel. Yet a 
leading contention of Great Britain before the arbitrator was 
that equity required a judgment in her favor because a decision 
in favor of the United States would deprive British subjects of 
rights of navigation of which they had had the habitual enjoy- 
ment from the time when the Rosario Strait was first explored 
and surveyed in 1798. So, though by virtue of the award the 
United States acquired San Juan and the other islands of the 
group to which it belongs, the British Foreign Secretary had 
in 1859 instructed the British Minister at Washington as 
follows : 

*' Her Majesty's Government must, therefore, under any cir- 
cumstances, maintain the right of the British Crown to the 
island of San Juan. The interests at stake in connection witb 
the retention of that island are too important to admit of com- 
promise and Your Lordship will consequently bear in mind 
that, whatever arrangement as to the boundary line is finally 
arrived at, no settlement of the question will be accepted by 
Her Majesty's Government which does not provide for the 
island of San Juan being reserved to the British Crown." 

Thus, as already intimated, the British demand that her right 
to a portion of the disputed territory shall be acknowledged 
before she will consent to an arbitration as to the rest seems to- 
stand upon nothing but her own ipse dixit. She says to Vene- 
zuela, in substance : You can get none of the debatable land 
by force, because you are not strong enough ; you can get 
none by treaty, because I will not agree ; and you can take 
your chance of getting a portion by arbitration, only if you^ 
first agree to abandon to me such other portion as I may desig- 
nate." It is not perceived how such an attitude can be 
defended nor how it is reconcilable with that love of justice and 
fair play so eminently characteristic of the EngHsh race. It in 
effect deprives Venezuela of her free agency and puts her 



411 



under virtual duress. Territory acquired by reason of it will" 
be' as much wrested from her by the strong hand as if occupied 
by British troops or covered by British fleets. It seems there- 
fore quite impossible that this position of Great Britain should 
be assented to by the United States, or that, if such position 
be adhered to with the result of enlarging the bounds of British 
Guiana, it should not be regarded as amounting, in substance, 
to an invasion and conquest of Venezuelan territory. 

In these circumstances the duty of the President appears to 
him unmistakable and imperative. Great Britain's assertion 
of title to the disputed territory, combined with her refusal to 
have that title investigated, being a substantial appropriation 
of the territory to her own use, not to protest and give 
warning that the transaction will be regarded as injurious to 
the interests of the people of the United States as well as op- 
pressive in itself would be to ignore an established policy with 
which the honor and welfare of this country are closely identi- 
fied. While the measures necessary or proper for th.e vindi- 
cation of that policy are to be determined by another branch 
of the Government, it is clearly for the Executive to leave 
nothing undone which may tend to render such determination 
unnecessary. 

You are instructed, therefore, to render the foregoing views 
to Lord Salisbury by reading to him this communication (leav- 
ing with him a copy should he so desire), and to reinforce them 
by such pertinent considerations as will doubtless occur to you. 
They call for a definite decision upon the point whether Great 
Britain will consent or will decline to submit the Venezuelan 
boundary question in its entirety to impartial arbitration. It is 
the earnest hope of the President that the conclusion will be on 
the side of arbitration, and that Great Britain will add one more 
to the conspicuous precedents she has already furnished in favor 
of that wise and just mode of adjusting international disputes. 

If he is to be disappointed in that hope, however — a result 
not to be anticipated and in his judgment calculated to greatly 
embarrass the future relations between this country and Great 
Britain — it is his wish to be made acquainted with the fact at 



412 



•such early date as will enable him to lay the whole subject be- 
;fore Congress in his next annual message. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

Richard Olney. 



Mr. Adee to Mr. Bayard. 

.No. 8c6.] Department of State. 

Washington, July 24, 1895. 

His Excellency Thomas F. Bayard, etc., etc., etc., London : 

Sir: — In Mr. Olney's instructions No. 804, of the 20th in- 
stant, in relation to the Anglo-Venezuelan boundary dispute, 
you will note a reference to the sudden increase of the area 
-claimed for British Guiana, amounting to 33,000 square miles, 
between 1884 and 1886. This statement is made on the au- 
thority of the British publication entitled the Statesman's Year 
Book. 

I add for your better information that the same statement is 
found in the British Colonial Office List, a government pub- 
lication. 

In the issue for 1885, the following passage occurs, on page 
.24, under the head of British Guiana : 

" It is impossible to specify the exact area of the Colony, as 
its precise boundaries between Venezuela and Brazil respective- 
ly are undetermined, but it has been computed to be 76,000 
. square miles. " 

In the issue of the same List for 1886, the same statement 
occurs, on page 33, with the change of area to "about 109,000 
square miles. " 

The official maps in the two volumes mentioned are identical, 
so that the increase of 33,000 square miles claimed for British 
Guiana is not thereby explained, but later Colonial Office List 
maps show a varying sweep of the boundary westward into 
what previously figured as Venezuelan territory, while no change 
;is noted on the Brazilian frontier. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

Alva A. Adee, 
Acting Secretary. 



413 

Lord Salisbury to Sir Jidian Pauiicefote. 

No. 189.] Foreign Office. 

November 26, 1895. 

Sir : 

On the 7th of August I transmitted to Lord Gough a copy 
of the despatch from Mr. Olney which Mr. Bayard had left 
with me that day, and of which he had read portions to me. I 
informed him at the time that it could not be answered until it 
had been carefully considered by the Law Officers of the Crown. 
I have therefore deferred replying to it till after the recess. 

I will not now deal with those portions of it which are con- 
cerned exclusively with the controversy that has for some time- 
past existed between the Republic of Venezuela and Her Maj- 
esty's Government in regard to the boundary which separates- 
their dominions. I take a very different view from Mr. Olney 
of various matters upon which he touches in that part of the 
despatch ; but I will defer for the present all observations upon 
it, as it concerns matters which are not in themselves of first- 
rate importance, and do not directly concern the relations be- 
tween Great Britain and the United States. 

The latter part however of the despatch, turning from the 
question of the frontiers of Venezuela, proceeds to deal with 
principles of a far wider character, and to advance doctrines of 
international law which are of considerable interest to all the 
nations whose dominions include any portion of the western 
hemisphere. 

The contentions set forth by Mr. Olney in this part of his 
despatch are represented by him as being an application of the 
political maxims which are well known in American discussion 
under the name of the Monroe doctrine. As far as I am aware, 
this doctrine has never been before advanced on behalf of the 
United States in any written communication addressed to the 
Government of another nation ; but it has been generally adopted 
and assumed as true by many eminent writers, and politicians of 
the United States. It is said to have largely influenced the 
Government, of that country in the conduct of its foreign af- 
fairs: though Mr. Clayton, who was Secretary of State under 



414 



President Taylor, expressly stated that that Administration had 
in no way adopted it. But during the period that has elapsed 
since the Message of President Monroe was delivered in 1823, 
the doctrine has undergone a very notable development, and 
the aspect it now presents in the hands of Mr. Olney differs 
widely from its character when it first issued from the pen of its 
author. The two propositions which in effect President Monroe 
laid down were, first, that America was no longer to be looked 
upon as a field for European colonization; and, second, that 
Europe must not attempt to extend its political system to 
America, or to control the political condition of any of the 
American communities who had recently declared their inde- 
pendence. 

The dangers against which President Monroe thought it 
right to guard were not as imaginary as they would seem at 
the present day. The formation of the Holy Alliance ; the 
■Congresses of Laybach and Verona ; the invasion of Spain 
by France for the purpose of forcing upon the Spanish people 
a form of government which seemed likely to disappear, un- 
less it was sustained by external aid, were incidents fresh in 
the mind of President Monroe when he penned his celebrated 
Message. The system of which he speaks, and of which he so 
resolutely deprecates the application to the American Continent, 
was the system then adopted by certain powerful States upon 
the Continent of Europe of combining to prevent by force of 
arms the adoption in other countries of political institutions 
which they disHked, and to uphold by external pressure those 
which they approved. Various portions of South America 
had recently declared their independence, and that independence 
had not been recognized by the Governments of Spain and 
Portugal, to which, with small exception, the whole of Central 
and South America were nominally subject. It was not an 
imaginary danger that he foresaw, if he feared that the same 
spirit which had dictated the French expedition into Spain 
anight inspire the more powerful Governments of Europe with 
the idea of imposing, by the force of European arms, upon 
•.the South American communities the form of government and 



415 



Ihe political connection which they had thrown off. In de- 
claring that the United States would resist any such enterprise 
if it was contemplated, President Monroe adopted a policy 
which received the entire sympathy of the English Govern- 
ment of that date. 

The dangers which were apprehended by President Monroe 
have no relation to the state of things in which we live at the 
present day. There is no danger of any Holy AlHance im- 
posing its system upon any portion of the American Continent, 
and there is no danger of any European State treating any 
part of the American Continent as a fit object for European 
colonization. It is intelligible that Mr. Olney should invoke, 
in defence of the views on which he is now insisting, an au- 
♦ thority which enjoys so high a popularity with his own fellow- 
countrymen. But the circumstances with which President 
Monroe was dealing, and those to which the present American 
Government is addressing itself, have very few features in 
common. Great Britain is imposing no "system" upon Ven- 
ezuela, and is not concerning herself in any way with the 
nature of the political institutions under which the Vene- 
zuelans may prefer to live. But the British Empire and the 
Republic of Venezuela are neighbors, and they have differed 
for some time past, and continue to differ, as to the line by 
which their dominions are separated. It is a controversy with 
which the United States have no apparent practical concern. 
It is diflicult, indeed, to see how it can materially affect any 
State or community outside those primarily interested, except 
perhaps other parts of Her Majesty's dominions, such as Trin- 
idad. The disputed frontier of Venezuela has nothing to do 
with any of the questions dealt with by President Monroe. It 
is not a question of the colonization by a European Power of 
any portion of America. It is not a question of the imposi- 
tion upon the communities of South America of any system of 
government devised in Europe. It is simply the determina- 
tion of the frontier of a British possession which belonged to 
the Throne of England long before the Republic of Venezuela 
-came into existence. But even if the interests of Venezuela 



416 



were so far linked to those of the United States as to give ta 
the latter a locus siaiidi in this controversy, their Government, 
apparently have not formed, and certainly do not express, any 
opinion upon the actual merits of the dispute. The Govern- 
ment of the United States do not say that Great Britain, or 
that Venezuela, is in the right in the matters that are in issue. 
But they lay down that the doctrine of President Monroe, 
when he opposed the imposition of European systems, or the 
renewal of European colonization, confers upon them the right 
of demanding that where a European Power has a frontier dif-^ 
ference with a South American community, the European 
Power shall consent to refer that controversy to arbitration ;. 
and Mr. Olney states that unless Her Majesty's Government 
accede to this demand, it will " greatly embarrass the future 
relations between Great Britain and the United States." 

Whatever may be the authority of the doctrine laid down 
by President Monroe, there is nothing in his language to show 
that he ever thought of claiming this novel prerogative for the 
United States. It is admitted that he did not seek to assert a 
Protectorate over Mexico, or the States of Central and South 
America. Such a claim would have imposed upon the United 
States the duty of answering for the conduct of these States, 
and consequently the responsibility of controlling it. His 
sagacious foresight would have led him energetically to dep- 
recate the addition of so serious a burden to those which the 
Rulers of the United States have to bear. It follows of neces- 
sity that if the Government of the United States will not con-^ 
trol the conduct of these communities, neither can it undertake 
to protect them from the consequences attaching to any mis-^ 
conduct of which they may be guilty towards other nations. 
If they violate in any way the rights of another State, or of its- 
subjects, it is not alleged that the Monroe doctrine will assure 
them the assistance of the United States in escaping from any 
reparation which they may be bound by international law to- 
give. Mr. Olney expressly disclaims such an inference from. 
the principles he lays down. 



417 



But the claim which he founds upon them is, that if any in- 
dependent American State advances a demand for territory of 
which its neighbor claims to be the owner, and that neighbor 
is the colony of a European State, the United States have a 
right to insist that the European State shall submit the de- 
mand and its own impugned rights to arbitration 

I will not now enter into a discussion of the merits of this 
method of terminating international differences. It has proved 
itself valuable in many cases; but it is not free from defects, 
which often operate as a serious drawback on its value. It is 
not always easy to find an Arbitrator who is competent, and 
who, at the same time, is wholly free from bias; and the task 
of insuring compHance with the Award when it is made is not 
exempt from difficulty. It is a mode of settlement of which 
the value varies much according to the nature of the contro- 
versy to which it is applied, and the character o f the litigants 
who appeal to it. Whether, in any particular case, it is a suitable 
method of procedure is generally a delicate and difficult ques- 
tion. The only parties who are competent to decide that 
question are the two parties whose rival contentions are in 
issue. The claim of a third nation, which is unaffected by 
the controversy, to impose this particular procedure on either 
of the two others, cannot be reasonably justified, and has no 
foundation in the law of nations. 

In the remarks which I have made, I have argued on the 
theory that the Monroe doctrine in itself is sound. I must not, 
however, be understood as expressing any acceptance of it on 
the part of Her Majesty's Government. It must always be 
mentioned with respect, on account of the distinguished states- 
man to whom it is due, and the great nation who have gener- 
ally adopted it. But international law is founded on the gen- 
eral consent of nations; and no statesman, however eminent, 
and no nation, however powerful, are competent to insert into 
the code of international law a novel principle which was never 
recognized before, and which has not since been accepted by 
the Government of any other country. The United States 
have a right, like any other nation, to interpose in any contro- 



418 



versy by which their own interests are affected ; and they are 
the judge whether those interests are touched, and in what 
measure they should be sustained. But their rights are in no 
way strengthened or extended by the fact that the controversy 
affects some territory which is called American. Mr. Olney 
quotes the case of the recent Chilean war, in which the United 
States declined to join with France and England in an effort to 
bring hostilities to a close, on account of the Monroe doctrine. 
The United States were entirely in their right in declining to 
join in an attempt at pacification if they thought fit; but Mr. 
Olney's principle that "American questions are for American 
decision," even if it receive any countenance from the language 
of President Monroe (which it does not), cannot be sustained 
by any reasoning drawn from the law of nations. 

The Government of the United States is not entitled to af- 
firm as a universal proposition, with reference to a number of 
independent States for whose conduct it assumes no responsi- 
bility, that its interests are necessarily concerned in whatever 
may befall those States simply because they are situated in the 
Western Hemisphere. It may well be that the interests of 
the United States are affected by something that happens to 
Chile or to Peru, and that that circumstance may give them 
the right of interference; but such a contingency may equally 
happen in the case of China or Japan, and the right of inter- 
ference is not more extensive or more assured in the one case 
than in the other. 

Though the language of President Monroe is directed to the 
attainment of objects which most Englishmen would agree to 
be salutary, it is impossible to admit that they have been in- 
scribed b}^ any adequate authority in the code of international 
law; and the danger which such admission would involve is 
sufficiently exhibited, both by the strange development which 
the doctrine has received at Mr. Olney's hands, and the argu- 
ments by which it is supported in the despatch under reply. 
In defence of it he says : 

*' That distance and 3,000 miles of intervening ocean make 
any perma?ie?it political u7iio?i betweeii a Europe a7i aiid an American 



419 



State nnnaturdl and inexpedient will hardly be denied. But phys- 
ical and geographical considerations are the least of the objec- 
dons to such a union, Europe has a set of primary interests 
which are peculiar to herself; America is not interested in 
-ithem, and ought not to be vexed or complicated with them." 
And again : 

" Thus far in our history we have been spared the burdens 
and evils of immense standing. armies, and all the other access- 
ories of huge warlike establishments; and the exemption has 
liighly contributed to our national greatness and wealth, as 
well as to the happiness of every citizen. But with the Poivers 
,of Europe permanently encamped o?i America?i soil, the ideal con- 
ditions we have thus far enjoyed cannot be expected to con- 
tinue." 

The necessary meaning of these words is that the union be- 
tween Great Britain and Canada; between Great Britain and 
Jamaica and Trinidad; between Great Britain and British Hon- 
duras or British Guiana are "inexpedient and unnatural." 
President Monroe disclaims any such inference from his doc- 
trine; but in this, as in other respects, Mr. Olney develops it. 
He lays down that the inexpedient and unnatural character of 
the union between a European and American State is so ob- 
vious that it " wall hardly be denied." Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment are prepared emphatically to deny it on behalf of both 
the British and American people who are subject to her Crown. 
They maintain that the union between Great Britain and her 
territories in the Western Hemisphere is both natural and ex- 
pedient. They fully concur with the view which President 
Monroe apparently entertained, that any disturbance of the 
existing territorial distribution in that hemisphere, by any fresh 
acquisitions on the part of any European State, would be a 
highly inexpedient change. But they are not prepared to ad- 
mit that the recognition of that expediency is clothed with the 
sanction which belongs to a doctrine of international law. 
They are not prepared to admit that the interests of the United 
States are necessarily concerned in every frontier dispute 
which may arise between any two of the States who possess 



20 



dominion in the Western Hemisphere; and still less can they 
accept the doctrine that the United States are entitled to claim* 
that the process of arbitration shall be appHed to any demand 
for the surrender of territory which one of those States may 
make against another. 

I have commented, in the above remarks, only upon the gen- 
eral aspect of Mr. Olney's doctrines, apart from the special 
considerations v^hich attach to the controversy betw^een the 
United Kingdom and Venezuela in its present phase. This 
controversy has undoubtedly been made more difficult by the 
inconsiderate action of the Venezuelan Government in break-^ 
ing off relations with Her Majesty's Government, and its set^ 
tlement has been correspondingly delayed; but Her Majesty's 
Government have not surrendered the hope that it will be ad- 
justed by a reasonable arrangement at an early date. 

I request that you will read the substance of the above des- 
patch to Mr. Olney, and leave him a copy if he desires it. 

S. 



Lord Salisbury to Sir Julia7i Paimcefote. 

No. 190. ] Foreign Office. 

November 26, 1895. 

Sir: 

In my preceding despatch of to-day's date I have replied 
only to the latter portion of Mr. Olney's despatch of the 20th 
July last, which treats of the application of the Monroe doc- 
trine to the question of the boundary dispute between Vene- 
zuela and the colony of British Guiana. But it seems desir- 
able, in order to remove some evident misapprehensions as to 
the main features of the question, that the statement of it con- 
tained in the earHer portion of Mr. Olney's despatch should not 
be left without reply. Such a course will be the more con- 
venient, because, in consequence of the suspension of diplo- 
matic relations, I shall not have the opportunity of setting right 
misconceptions of this kind in the ordmary way in a despatch 
addressed to the Venezuelan Government itself. 



421 



Her Majesty's Government, while they have never avoided 
-or dedined argument on the subject with the Government of 
Venezuela, have always held that the question was one which 
liad no direct bearing on the material interests of any other 
country, and have consequently refrained hitherto from pre- 
senting any detailed statement of their case either to the 
United States or to other foreign Governments. 

It is, perhaps, a natural consequence of this circumstance 
that Mr. Olney's narration of what has passed bears the 
impress of being mainly, if not entirely, founded on ex parte 
statements emanating from Venezuela, and gives, in the opin- 
ion of Her Majesty's Government, an erroneous view of many 
material facts. 

Mr. Olney commences his observations by remarking that 
-^^the dispute is of ancient date, and began at least as early as 
-the time when Great Britain acquired by the Treaty with the 
Netherlands in 1814 the establishments of Demerara, Esse- 
.quibo, and Berbice. From that time to the present the divid- 
ing line between these establishments, now called British 
Guiana and Venezuela has never ceased to be subject of con- 
tention." 

This statement is founded on misconception. The dispute 
•on the subject of the frontier did not, in fact, commence till 
after the year 1840. 

The title of Great Britain to the territory in question is 
derived, in the first place, from conquest and military occupa- 
tion of the Dutch settlements in 1796. Both on this occasion, 
and at the time of a previous occupation of those settlements 
in 1 781, the British authorities marked the western boundary 
•of their possessions as beginning some distance up the Orinoco 
beyond Point Barima, in accordance with the limits claimed 
and actually held by the Dutch, and this has always since 
remained the frontier claimed by Great Britain. The definite 
cession of the Dutch settlements to England was, as Mr. 
Olney states, placed on record by the Treaty of 18 14, and 
although the Spanish Government were parties to the nego- 
tiations which led to that Treaty, they did not at any stage of 



422 



them raise objection to the frontiers claimed by Great Britafnv 
though these were perfectly well known to them. At that 
time the Government of Venezuela had not been recognized 
even by the United States, though the province was already 
in revolt against the Spanish Government, and had declared 
its independence. No question of frontier was raised with 
Great Britain either by it or by the Government of the United. 
States of Colombia, in which it became merged in 1819. That 
Government, indeed, on repeated occasions, acknowledged its 
indebtedness to Great Britain for her friendly attitude. When 
in 1830 the Republic of Venezuela assumed a separate exist- 
ence its Government was equally warm in it& expressions 
of gratitude and friendship, and there was not at the time any 
indication of an intention to raise such claims as have been^ 
urged by it during the latter portion of this century. 

It is true, as stated by Mr. Olney, that, in the Venezuelan 
Constitution of 1830, Article 5 lays down that " the territory 
of Venezuela comprises all that which previously to the polit- 
ical changes of 1810 was denominated the Captaincy-General 
of Venezuela." Similar declarations had been made in the- 
fundamental laws promulgated in 1819 and in 182 1. 

I need not point out that a declaration of this kind made by^ 
a newly self-constituted State can have no valid force as- 
against international arrangements previously concluded by 
the nation from which it has separated itself. 

But the present difficulty would never have arisen if the^ 
Government of Venezuela had been content to claim only 
those territories which could be proved or even reasonably 
asserted to have been practically in the possess^ion and under 
the effective jurisdiction of the Captaincy-General of Vene- 
zuela. 

There is no authoritative statement by the Spanish Govern- 
ment of those territories, for a Decree which the Venezuelan 
Government allege to have been issued by the King of Spain- 
in 1768, describing the Province of Guiana as bordered on the- 
south by the Amazon and on the east by the Atlantic, cer- 
tainly cannot be regarded as such. It absolutely ignores the: 



423 



Dutch settlements, which not only existed in fact, but had been 
formally recognized by the Treaty of Miinster of 1648, and it 
would, if now considered valid, transfer to Venezuela the 
whole of the British, Dutch, and French Guianas, and an 
enormous tract of territory belonging to Brazil. 

But of the territories claimed and actually occupied by the 
Dutch, which were those acquired from them by Great 
Britain, there exist the most authentic declarations. In 1759, 
and again in 1769, the States-General of Holland addressed 
formal remonstrances to the Court of iMadrid against the 
incursions of the Spaniards into their posts and settlements in 
the basin of the Cuyuni. In these remonstrances they dis- 
tinctly claimed all the branches of the Essequibo river, and 
especially, the Cuyuni river, as lying within Dutch territory. 
They demanded immediate reparation for the proceedings of 
the Spaniards and reinstatement of the posts said to have been 
injured by them, and suggested that a proper delineation be 
tween the Colony of Essequibo and the Rio Orinoco should 
be laid down by authority. 

To this claim the Spanish Government never attempted to 
make any reply. But it is evident from the archives which 
are preserved in Spain, and to which, by the courtesy of the 
Spanish Government, reference has been made, that the 
Council of State did not consider that they had the means of 
rebutting it, and that neither they nor the Governor of Cuma- 
na were prepared seriously to maintain the claims which were 
suggested in reports from his subordinate officer, the Com- 
mandant of Guiana. These reports were characterized by 
the Spanish Ministers as insufficient and unsatisfactory, as 
" professing to show the Province of Guiana under too favor- 
able a light," and finally by the Council of State as appearing 
from other information to be " very improbable." They form, 
however, with a map which accompanied them, the evidence 
on which the Venezuelan Government appear most to rely, 
though it may be observed that among other documents which 
have from time to ti.^ne been produced or referred to by them 
in the course of the discussions is a Bull of Pope Alexander 



424 



VI. in 1493, which, if it is to be considered as having any 
present validity, would take from the Government of the 
United States all title to jurisdiction on the Continent of North 
America. The fundamental principle underlying the Vene- 
zuelan argument is, in fact, that, inasmuch as Spain was origi- 
nally entitled of right to the whole of the American Conti- 
nent, any territory on that Continent which she cannot be 
shown to have acknowledged in positive and specific terms to 
have passed to another Power can only have been acquired 
by wrongful usurpation, and if situated to the north of the 
Amazon and west of the Atlantic must necessarily belong to 
Venezuela, as her self-constituted inheritor in those regions. 
It may reasonably be asked whether Mr. Olney would 
consent to refer to the arbitration of another Power preten- 
sions raised by the Government of Mexico on such a founda- 
tion to large tracts of territory which had long been com- 
prised in the Federation. 

The circumstances connected with the making of what is 
called the " Schomburgk" Hne are as follows: 

In 1835 ^ grant was made by the British Government for 
the exploration of the interior of the British Colony, and Mr. 
(afterward Sir Robert) Schomburgk, who was employed on 
this service, on his return to the capital of the Colony in July, 
1839, called the attention of the Government to the necessity 
for an early demarcation of its boundaries. He was in conse- 
quence appointed in November, 1840, Special Commissioner 
for provisionally surveying and delimiting the boundaries of 
British Guiana, and notice of the appointment was given to the 
Governments concerned, including that of Venezuela. 

The intention of Her Majesty's Government at that time was? 
when the work of the Commissioner had been completed, to 
communicate to the other Governments their views as to the 
true boundary of the British Colon}-, and then to settle any 
details to which those Governments might take objection. 
^ It is important to notice that Sir R. Schomburgk did not 
discover or invent any new boundaries. He took particular 
care to fortify himself with the history of the case. He ha d 



425 

-f urther, from actual ex^ i l orat iaa-and infor mation obtained from 
the Indians, and from the evidence ofj j^cal remains, as at Bari- 
ma, and locaTtraditi ons, as on the C u^ii ni, fixed_ thelimits of 
lhe~lJutcti pos sessions, and the zone fr o m which all trace o f 
" Spanish intluence was absent. On such data he based his 
reports" 

At the very outset of his mission he surveyed Point Barima, 
where the remains of a Dutch fort still existed, and placed 
there and at the mouth of the Amacura two boundary posts. 
At the urgent entreaty of the Venezuelan Government these 
two posts were afterwards removed, as stated by Mr. Olney, 
but this concession was made on the distinct understanding 
that Great Britain did not thereby in any way abandon her claim 
to that position. 

In submitting the maps of his survey, on which he indicated 
the Hne which he would propose to Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment for adoption. Sir R. Schomburgk called attention to the 
fact that Her Majesty's Government might justly claim the 
whole basin of the Cuyuni and Yuruari on the ground that the 
natural boundary of the Colony included any territory through 
which flow rivers which fall into the Essequibo. " Upon this 
principle," he wrote, " the boundary-line would run from the 
sources of the Carumani towards the sources of the Cuyuni 
proper, and from thence towards its far more northern tribu- 
taries the rivers Iruary (Yuruari) and Iruang (Yuruan), and 
thus approach the very heart of Venezuelan Guiana." But, 
on the grounds of complaisance towards Venezuela, he pro- 
posed that Great Britain should consent to surrender her claim 
to a more extended frontier inland in return for the formal 
recognition of her right to Point Barima. It was on this prin- 
ciple that he drew the boundary-line which has since been 
•called by his name. 

Undoubtedly, therefore, Mr. Olney is right when he states 
that " it seems impossible to treat the Schomburgk line as be- 
ing the boundary claimed by Great Britain as a matter of right, 
or as anything but a Hne originating in considerations of con- 
venience and expediency." The Schomburgk Hne was in fact 
.a great reduction of the boundary claimed by Great Britain as 



426 



a matter of right, and its proposal originated in a desire to- 
come to a speedy and friendly arrangement with a weaker 
Power with whom Great Britain was at that time, and desired 
to remain, in cordial relations. 

The following are the main facts of the discussions that en- 
sued with the Venezuelan Government : 

While Mr. Schomburgk was engaged on his survey the 
Venezuelan Minister in London had urged Her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment to enter into a Treaty of Limits, but received the 
answer that, if it should be necessary to enter into such a 
Treaty, a survey was, at any rate, the necessary preliminary,, 
and that this was proceeding. 

As soon as Her Majesty's Government were in possession- 
of Mr. Schomburgk's reports, the Venezuelan Minister was- 
informed that they were in a position to commence negotia- 
tions, and in January, 1844, M. Fortique commenced by stat- 
ing the claim of his Government. 

This claim, starting from such obsolete grounds as the origi-^ 
nal discovery by Spain of the American Continent, and mainly 
supported by quotations of a more or less vague character 
from the writings of travellers and geographers, but adducing 
no substantial evidence of actual conquest or occupation of the 
territory claimed, demanded the Essequibo itself as the boun- 
dary of Venezuela. 

A reply was returned by Lord Aberdeen, then Secretary of 
State for Foreign Affairs, pointing out that it would be im- 
possible to arrive at any agreement if both sides brought for- 
ward pretensions of so extreme a character, but stating that 
the British Government would not imitate M. Fortique in put- 
ting forward a claim which it could not be intended seriously 
to maintain. Lord Aberdeen then proceed to announce the 
concessions which, "out of friendly regard to Venezuela," Her 
Majesty's Government were prepared to make, and proposed 
a line starting from the mouth of the Moroco to the junction 
of the river Barama with the Waini, thence up the Barama to 
the point at which that stream approached nearest to the 



427 



Acarabisi, and thence following Sir R. Schomburgk's line 
from the source of the Acarabisi onwards. 

A condition was attached to the proffered cession, viz., that 
the Venezuelan Government should enter into an engagement 
that no portion of the territory proposed to be ceded should be 
alienated at any time to a foreign Power, and that the Indian 
tribes residing in it should be protected from oppression. 

No answer to the note was ever received from the Vene- 
zuelan Government, and in 1850 Her Majesty's Government 
informed Her Majesty's Charge d' Affaires at Caracas that as 
the proposal had remained for more than six years unaccepted, 
it must be considered as having lapsed, and authorized him to 
make a communication to the Venezuelan Government to that 
effect. 

A report having at the time become current in Venezuela, 
that Great Britain intended to seize Venezuelan Guiana, the 
British Government distinctly disclaimed such an intention, but 
inasmuch as the Government of Venezuela subsequently per- 
mitted projects to be set on foot for the occupation of Point 
Barima and certain other positions in dispute, the British 
Charge d' Affairs was instructed in June, 1850, to call the seri- 
ous attention of the President and Government of Venezuela, 
to the question, and to declare to them "that, whilst, on the^ 
one hand, Great Britain had no intention to occupy or encroach 
on the disputed territory, she would not, on the other hand, 
view with indifference aggressions on that territory by Vene- 
zuela." 

The Venezuelan Government repUed in December of the 
same year that Venezuela had no intention of occupying or- 
encroaching upon any part of the territory the dominion of: 
which was in dispute, and that orders would be issued to the 
authorities in Guiana to abstain from taking any steps con- 
trary to this engagement. 

This constitutes what has been termed the " Agreement of^ 
1850," to which the Government of Venezuela have frequently 
appealed, but which the Venezuelans have repeatedly violated 
in succeeding years. 



428 



Their first acts of this nature consisted in the occupation of 
fresh positions to the east of their previous settlements, and 
the founding in 1858 of the town of Nueva Providencia on the 
right bank of the Yuruari, all previous settlements being on 
the left bank. The British Government, however, consider- 
ing that these settlements were so near positions which they 
had not wished to claim, considering also the dificulty of con- 
trolling the movements of mining populations, overlooked this 
breach of the Agreement. 

The Governor of the Colony was in 1857 sent to Caracas 
to negotiate for a settlement of the boundary, but he found the 
Venezuelan State in so disturbed a condition that it was impos- 
sible to commence negotiations, and eventually he came away 
without having effected anything. 

For the next nineteen years, as stated by Mr. Olney, the 
civil commotions in Venezuela prevented any resumption of 
negotiations. 

In 1876 it was reported that the Venezuelan Government 
had, for the second time, broken "the Agreement of 1850" 
by granting licenses to trade and cut w^ood in Barima and east- 
ward. Later in the same year that Government once more 
made an overture for the settlement of the boundary. Vari- 
ous delays interposed before negotiations actually commenced; 
and it was not till 1879 ^^^^ Senor Rojas began them with 
a renewal of the claim to the Essequibo as the eastern bound- 
ary of Venezuelan Guiana. At the same time he stated that 
his Government wished " to obtain, by means of a Treaty, a 
definite settlement of the question, and was disposed to pro- 
ceed to the demarcation of the divisional line between the two 
Guianas in a spirit of conciliation and true friendship twards 
Her Majesty's Government." 

In reply to this communication, a note was addressed to 
Senor Rojas on the loth of January, 1880, reminding him 
that the boundary which Her Majesty's Government claimed, 
as a matter of strict right on grounds of conquest and conces- 
sion by Treaty, commenced at a point at the mouth of the Ori- 
noco, westward of Point Barima, that it proceeded thence in 



429 



a southerly direction to the Imataca Mountains, the line of 
which, is followed to the northwest, passing from thence by the 
high land of Santa Maria just south of the town of Upata, 
until it struck a range of hills on the eastern bank of the Ca- 
roni River, following these southwards until it struck the great 
backbone of the Guiana district, the Barima Mountains of 
British Guiana, and thence southwards to the Pacaraima 
Mountains. On the other hand, the claim which had been 
put forward on behalf of Venezuela by General Guzman Blanco 
in his message to the National Congress of the 20th February, 
1877, would involve the surrender of a province now inhabited 
by 40,000 British subjects, and which had been in the uninter- 
rupted possession of Holland and of Great Britain successively 
for two centuries. The difference between these two claims be- - 
ing so great, it was pointed out toSenor Rojas that, in order to 
arrive at a satisfactory arrangement, each party must be pre-- 
pared to make very considerable concessions to the other, and 
he was assured that, although the claim of Venezuela to the 
Essequibo river boundary could not, under any circumstances, 
be entertained, yet that Her Majesty's Government were anx- 
ious to meet the Venezuelan Government in a spirit of concil- 
iation, and would be willing, in the event of a renewal of ne- 
gotiations for the general settlement of boundaries, to waive a 
portion of what they considered to be their strict rights if 
Venezuela were really disposed] to make corresponding con- 
cessions on her part. 

The Venezuelan Minister replied in February, i88i,by pro- 
y« posing a line which commenced on the coast a mile to the 
S north of the Moroco river, and followed certain parallels and 
S meridians inland, bearing a general resemblance to the pro- 
\ posal made by Lord Aberdeen in 1844. 

/| \/' Senor Rojas's proposal was referred to the Lieutenant-Gov- 
) ernor and Attorney-General of British Guiana, who were then 
S in England, and they presented an elaborate Report, showing 
\ that in the thirty-five years which had elapsed since Lord 
( Aberdeen's proposed concession natives and others had settled 
I in the territory under the belief that they would enjoy the ben- 



430 



•€fits of British rule, and that it was impossible to assent to any 
such concessions as Senor Rojas's line would involve.. 'They, 
however, proposed an alternative line, which involved consid- 
-erable reductions of that laid down by Sir R. Schomburgk. ^ 

This boundary was proposed to the Venezuelan Government 
by Lord Granville in September, 1881, but no answer was 
ever returned by that Government to the proposal. 

While, however, the Venezuelan Minister constantly stated 
that the matter was under active consideration, it was found 
that in the same year a Concession had been given by his 
Government to General Pulgar, which included a large por- 
tion of the territory in dispute. This was the third breach by 
Venezuela of the Agreement of 1850. 

Early in 1884 ri^^^'s arrived of a fourth breach by Vene- 
zuela of the Agreement of 1850, through two different grants 
which covered the whole of the territory in dispute, and as 
this was followed by actual attempts to settle on the disputed 
territory, the British Government could no longer remain in- 
active. 

Warning was therefore given to the Venezuelan Govern- 
ment and to the concessionnaires, and a British Magistrate 
was sent into the threatened district to assert the British rights. 

Meanwhile, the negotiations for the settlement of the bound- 
ary had continued, but the only replies that could be obtained 
from Senor Guzman Blanco, the Venezuelan Minister, were 
proposals for arbitration in different forms, all of which Her 
Majesty's Government were compelled to decline as involv- 
ing a submission to the Arbitrator of the claim advanced by 
Venezuela in 1844 territory up to the left bank of the 
Essequibo. 

As the progress of settlement by British subjects made a 
decision of some kind absolutely necessary, and as the Vene- 
zuelan Government refused to come to any reasonable arrange- 
ment, Her Majesty's Government decided not to repeat the 
offer of concessions which had not been reciprocated, but to 
assert their undoubted right to the territory within the Schom- 
burgk line, while still consenting to hold open for further ne- 



431 



^otiation, and even for arbitration, the unsettled lands between 
that line and what they considered to be the rightful bound- 
ary, as stated in the note to Sefior Rojas of the loth January, 
1880. 

The execution of this decision was deferred for a time, 
owing to the return of Senor Guzman Blanco to London, and 
the desire of Lord Rosebery, then Secretary of State for For- 
eign Affairs, to settle all pending questions between the two 
Governments. Mr. Olney is mistaken in supposing that in 
1886 "a Treaty was practically agreed upon containing a 
general arbitration clause, under which the parties might have 
submitted the boundary dispute to the decision of a third 
Power, or of several Powers in aniity with both." It is true 
that General Guzman Blanco proposed that the Commercial 
Treaty between the two countries should contain a clause of 
this nature, but it had reference to future disputes only. Her 
Majesty's Government have always insisted on a separate dis- 
cussion of the frontier question, and have considered its settle- 
ment to be a necessary preliminery to other arrangements. 
Lord Rosebery's proposal, made in July, 1886, was "that 
the two Governments should agree to consider the territory 
lying between the boundary lines respectively proposed in the 
8th paragraph of Senor Rojaz's note of the 21st February, 
1881, and Lord Granville's note of the 15th September, 1881, 
as the territory in dispute between the two countries, and that 
a boundary line within the Hmits of this territory should be 
traced either by an Arbitrator or by a Joint Commission on 
the basis of an equal division of this territory, due regard 
being had to natural boundaries. 

Senor Guzman Blanco replied declining the proposal, and 
repeating that arbitration on the whole claim of Venezuela 
was the only method of solution which he could suggest. 
This pretension is hardly less exorbitant than would be a 
refusal by Great Britain to agree to an arbitration on the 
boundary of British Columbia and Alaska, unless the United 
States would consent to bring into question one-half of the 
whole area of the latter territory. He shortly afterwards left 



432 



England, and as there seemed no hope of arriving at an agree- 
ment by further discussions, the Schomburgk line was pro-^ 
claimed as the irreducible boundary of the colony in October,. 
1886. It must be borne in mind that in taking this step Her 
Majesty's Government did not assert anything approaching 
their extreme claim, but confined themselves within the limits 
of what had as early as 1840 been suggested as a concession 
out of friendly regard and complaisance. 

When Senor Guzman Blanco, having returned to Vene- 
zuela, announced his intention of erecting a lighthouse at Point 
Barima, the British Government expressed their readiness to 
permit this if he would enter into a formal written agreement 
that its erection would not be held to prejudice their claim to 
the site. 

In the meanwhile the Venezuelan Government had sent 
commissioners into the territory to the east of the Schomburgk 
line, and on their return two notes were addressed to the British 
Minister at Caracas, dated respectively the 26th and 31st Jan- 
uary, 1887, demanding the evacuation of the whole territory 
held by Great Britain from the mouth of the Orinoco to the 
Pomeroon river, and adding that should this not be done by 
the 20th February, and should the evacuation not be accom- 
panied by the acceptance of arbitration as the means of decid- 
ing the pending frontier question, diplomatic relations would 
be broken off. In pursuance of this decision the Britisli rep- 
resentative at Caracas received his passports, and relations 
were declared by the Venezuelan Government to be suspended 
on the 2ist February, 1887. 

In December of that year, as a matter of precaution, and in 
order that the claims of Great Britain beyond the Schomburgk 
line might not be considered to have been abandoned, a notice 
was issued by the Governor of British Guiana formally reserv- 
ing those claims. No steps have, however, at any time been 
taken by the British authorities to exercise jurisdiction beyond 
the Schomburgk line, nor to interfere with the proceedings of 
the Venezuelans in the territory outside of it, although, pend- 
ing a settlement of the dispute. Great Britain cannot recog- 



433 



nize those proceedings as valid, or as conferring any legitimate 
title. 

The question has remained in this position ever since; the 
bases on which Her Majesty's Government were prepared to 
negotiate for its settlement'jwere clearly indicated to the Ven- 
ezuelan Plenipotentiaries who were successively dispatched to 
London in 1890, 1891, and 1893, to negotiate for a renewal of 
diplomatic relations, but as on those occasions the only solu- 
tions which the Venezuelan Government professed themselves 
ready to accept would still have involved the submission to 
arbitration of the Venezuelan claim to a large portion of the 
British colony, no progress has yet been made towards a set- 
tlement. 

It will be seen from the preceding statement that the Gov- 
ernment of Great Britain have from the first held the same 
view as to the extent of territory which they are entitled to 
claim as a matter'of right. It comprised the coast line up to 
the river Amacura, and the whole basin of the Essequibo 
river and its tributaries. A portion of that claim, however,, 
they have always been willing to waive altogether; in regard 
to another portion, they have been and continue to be perfectly 
ready to submit the question of their title to arbitration. As 
regards the rest, that which lies within the so-called Schom- 
burgk line, they do not consider that the rights of Great Britain 
are open to question. Even within that line they have, on 
various occasions, offered to Venezuela considerable conces- 
sions as a matter of friendship and conciliation, and for the 
purpose of securing an amicable settlement of the dispute. If 
as time has gone on the concessions thus offered diminished 
in e:?^^tent, and have now been withdrawn, this has been the 
necessary consequence of the gradual spread over the country 
of British settlements, which Her Majesty's Government can- 
not in justice to the inhabitants offer to surrender to foreign 
rule, and the justice of such withdrawal is amply borne out by 
the researches in the national archives of Holland and Spain, 
which have furnished further and more convincing evidence 
in support of the British claims. 

The discrepancies in the frontiers assigned to the British 



434 



colony in various maps published in England, and erroneously 
assumed to be founded on official information, are easily ac- 
counted for by the circumstances which I have mentioned. 
Her Majesty's Government cannot, of course, be responsible 
for such publications made without their authority. 

Although the negotiations in 1890, 1891, and 1893 did not 
lead to any result, tier Majesty's Government have not aban- 
doned the hope that they may be resumed with better success, 
and that when the internal politics of Venezuela are settled on 
a more durable basis than has lately appeared to be the case, 
her government may ,be enabled to adopt a more moderate 
and conciliatory course in regard to this question than that of 
their predecessors. Her Majesty's Government are sincerely 
desirous of being on friendly relations with Venezuela, and 
certainly have no design to seize territory that properly be- 
longs to her, or forcibly to extend sovereignty over any por- 
tion of her population. 

They have, on the contrary, repeatedly expressed their 
readiness to submit to arbitration the conflicting claims of 
Great Britain and Venezuela to large tracts of territory which 
from their auriferous nature are known to be of almost untold 
value. But the^Jcannot consent to entertain, or to submit to 
the arbitration of another power or of foreign jurists, however 
eminent, claims based on the extravagant pretensions of Span- 
ish officials in the last century, and involving the transfer of 
large numbers of British subjects, who have t or many yea rs 
enjoyed t h e settled rule of a British colony , to a nation of dif- 
ferent race and language, whose poUtical system is subject to 
frequent disturbance, and whose institutions as yet too often 
afford very inadequate protection to life and property .^^o 
issue of this description has ever been involved in the ques- 
tions which Great Britain and the United States have consented 
to submit to arbitration, and Her Majesty's Government are 
convinced that in similar circumstances the government of the 
United States would be equally firm in declining to entertain 
proposals of such a nature. 



435 



Your Excellency is authorized to state the substance of this 
dispatch to Mr. Olney, and to leave him a copy of it if he should 
desire it. Salisbury. 



. Act of the United States Congress. 

[54th Congress.] 

PuBLid* Act — No. i. 

An Act making an appropriation for the expenses of a com- 
mission to investigate and J report on the true divisional line 
between the Republic of Venezuela and British Guiana. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Re'presentatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as 
may be necessary, be, and the same is, hereby appropriated, 
for the expenses of a commission to be appointed by the Pres- 
ident to investigate and report upon the true divisional line 
between the Republic of Venezuela and British Guiana. 

Thomas B. Reed, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

A. E. Stevenson, 
: Vice- President of the United States and 

President of the Senate. 

Approved December 21, 1895. 
Grover Cleveland. 



INDEX. 



A 

PAGES. 

Aberdeen, Lord, letter to A. Fortique, Oct. 21, 1841 ... 7-8 

Aberdeej Lord, letter to A. Fortique, Dec, 11, 1841 13-14 

Aberdeen, Lord, letter to A. Fortique, Jan. 31, 1842 17-18 

Aberdeen, Lord, letter to A. Fortique, March 30, 1844 26-32 

Act, U, S. of Venezuela Congress, April 18, 1890 234-235 

Andrade, Jose, letter to Secretary W. Q. Gresbam, March 31, 1894 . 285-288 
Andrade, Jos6, memorandum submitted to Secretary Gresham, March 

31, 1894 288-345 

Andrade, Jose, letter to Secretary Gresham, Dec. 19, 1894 .... 367-370 
Andrade, Jose, letter to Secretary Gresham, Dec. 31, 1894 .... 372-373 
Adee, Alva A., letter to Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, July 24, 1895 ... 412 
Act, U. S. Congress, appropriation for expenses Boundary Commis- 
sion, Dec. 21, 1895 435 

B 

Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Granville, Dec. 30, 1884 .... 82-84 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Granville, April 6, 1885 .... 85-89 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Granville, May 6, 1885 . . , . 91-94 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Granville, June 8, 1885 . . . 95-106 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Granville, June 22, 1885 . . . 116-117 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Sir Julian Pauncefote, July 22, 1885.117-119 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to the Marquis of Salisbury, August 5, 

1885 130-131 

Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to the Marquis of Salisbury, Oct. 12, 

1885 . 132-183 

Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to the Marquis of Salisbury, Dec. 17, 

1885 133-135 

Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Rosebery, June 19, 1886 . . . 135-186 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Principal Secretary, July 29, 1886 . 138-140 
Blanco, Gen. Guzman, memorandum submitted to Secretary, July 29, 

1886 . . . 140-150 

Blanco, Gen. Guzman, letter to Lord Rosebery, Jaly 28, 1886 . . . 150-168 
Bodman, Baron de, letter to Dr. Rojas, Nov. 12, 1894 355 

C 

Oalcano, Dr. Eduardo, letter to the Earl of Derby, Nov. 14, 1876 . . 39-50 

Commission, report of, 1887 177-201 

Crespo, General Joaquin, letter to Pope Leo, January, 1895 .... 347-348 
Cleveland, President Grover, extract Message to U. S. Congress, Dec. 

2, 1895 374-375 

Cleveland, President Grover, Message to U. S. Congress, Dec. 17, 

1895 375-380 



438 



D 

Deposition of Alfonso Figueredo 186-187 

F 

Fortique, Dr. Alejo, instructions to, Sept., 1S41 6 

Fortique, Dr. Alejo, letter to Lord Aberdeen, Oct. 5, 1841 6-7 

Fortique, Dr. Alejo, letter to Lord Aberdeen, Nov. 18, 1841 8-11 

Fortique, Dr. Alejo, letter to Lord Aberdeen, Dec. 8, 1841 11-13 

Fortique, Dr. Alejo, letter to Lord Aberdeen, Jan. 10, 1842 14-17 

Fortique, Dr. Alejo, letter to Lord Aberdeen, Jan. 31, 1844 19-26 

G 

Granville, Earl, letter to Don Jos6 Maria de Rojas, Sept. 15, 1881 . . 58-59 
Granville, Earl, memorandum submitted to Seilor Don Jose Maria de 

Rojas, Sept. 15, 1881 59-62 

Granville, Earl, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, Dec. 24, 1884 .... 81-82 
Granville, Earl, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, Jan. 24, 1885 .... 84-85 
Granville, Earl, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, April 15, 1885. . . . 89-91 
Granville, Earl, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, May 15, 1885 .... 94-95 
Granville, Earl, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, June 8, 1885. . . . 106-116 
Gresham, W. Q., letter to Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, July 13, 1894 . 351-355 
Gresham, W. Q., letter to Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, Dec. 1, 1894 . . 364-365 
Gresham, W. Q., letter to Seilor Jose Andrade, Dec. 8, 1894 .... 365-367 

H 

Haselton, Seneca, letter to \V. Q. Gresham, Dec. 21, 1894 370 

I 

Instructions by Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Ancient Colombia to 
Seiior J. Rafael Revenga, 1822 1 

Instructions by the Venezuelan Government to Dr. Alejo Fortique, 

Sept., 1841 6 

Instructions to Dr. Lucio Pulido, May 14, 1890 236 

L 

Light, Henry, Governor of British Guiana, letter to D. F. O'Leary, 

British Consul, 1842 18 

Lecuna, Sefior Vicente, letter to Belford Hinton Wilson, Dec. 20, 1850 . 37-38 
Lobo, Dr. David, letter to W. Q. Gresham, Oct. 26, 1893 281-285 

M 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Seilor Rafael Seijas, Oct. 15, 1883 63-65 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Seiior Rafael Seijas, March 11, 1884 .... 69-70 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Seiior Rafael Seijas, March 29, 1884 71 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Seiior Rafael Seijas, April 7, 1884 74 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Seilor Rafael Seijas, April 8, 1884 75-76 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Sefior Rafael Seijas, April 16, 1884 79-80 

Mansfield, C. E., letter to Gen. Vicente Amengual, Aug. 6, 1884 ... 80 
Memorandum left by Gen. Guzman Blanco with Sir Julian Pauncefote . 81 



439 



Memorandum, basis of negotiation, Lord Rosebery to Gen. Guzman 

Blanco 137-138 

Memorandum, submitted by Guzman Blanco to Lord Rosebery July 

29,1886 140_i5o 

Memorandum, views of English government on Dr. Urbaneja's re- 
marks, March 19, 1890 232-235 

Memorandum left by Dr. Lucio Pulido with Th. Sanderson, June 24, 

1890 238-240 

Memorandum referred to by Th. Sanderson in letter of July 24, 1890.242-245 
Michelena, Senor Tomas, letter to Lord Rosebery, May 23, 1893 ... 251 
Michelena, Senor Tomas, letter to Lord Rosebery, May 26, 1893 . . . 252 
Memorandum by Lord Rosebery submitted to Senor Michelena, July 

3, 1893 257-258 

Michelena, Senor Tomas, letter to Lord Rosebery, July 31, 1893 . . 258-264 
Michelena, Senor Tomas, letter to Seiior P. Ezequiel Rojas, Aug. 30, 

1893 265-266 

Michelena, Seiior Tomas, letter to Lord Rosebery, Sept. 29, 1893 . 267-278 
Michelena, Senor Tomas, letter to Lord Rosebery, Oct. 6, 1893 . . 278-280 
Memorandum boundary question submitted to VV. Q. Gresham, by 

Senor Andrade, March 31, 1894 288-345 

O 

O'Leary, Daniel F., letter to SefLor M. Aranda, April 8, 1842 .... 18-19 
Olney, Richard, letter to Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, July 20, 1895 . 380-412 

P 

Porter, Hon. Robert Kerr, letter to Venezuelan Minister, 1836 .... 2-5 
Pulido, Dr. Lucio, official notification to Th. Sanderson, June 20, 1890. 237 
Per.-onal suggestions by Th. Sanderson to Dr. Lucio Pulido, July 24, 

1890 245 

Pulido, Dr. Lucio, letter to Th. Sanderson, Aug. 4, 1890 245-247 

Pulido, Dr. Lucio, letter to Venezuelan Minister, Aug. 6, 1890 . . 247-249 

Pulido, Dr. Lucio, letter to Th. Sanderson, Sept. 30, 1890 249-250 

Pro Memoria by Dr. Michelena to Lord Rosebery, May 26, 1893 . . 252-254 
Prominent facts relative to boundary line, submitted by Dr. D. Lobo 

to AV. Q. Gresham, Oct. 26, 1893 281-285 

Pinaud, E., Consul, letter to Dr. Rojas, Oct. 25, 1894 358-359 

Proposed road from the Barimi river to the Cuyuni river, Oct. 25, 

1894 ... .359-361 

R 

Rojas, Senor Don J. de, letter to Lord Granville, 1880 53-58 

Rural Constable Ordinance, 1884 187-188 

Rosebery, Lord, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, July 20, 1886 . . . 136-237 

Rosebery, Lord, letter to Senor Michelena, May 24, 1893 251 

Rosebery, Lord, letter to Seiior Michelena, May 31, 1893 254 

Rosebery, Lord, letter to Senor Michelena, July 3, 1893 255-257 

Rojas, Dr. P. Ezequiel, letter to Seiior Michelena, Aug. 4, 1893 . . 264-265 



440 



Rosebery, Lord, letter to Senor Michelena, Sept. 12, 1893 266 

Rosebery, Lord, letter to Senor Micbelena, Sept. 22, 1893 267 

Rojas, Dr. P. E., letter to Cardinal Rampolla, June 19, 1894. . . . 345-346 

Rampolla, Cardinal, letter to Dr. Rojas, Dec. 7, 1894 . 346-347 

Rojas, Dr. P. E., letter to Cardinal Rampolla, Feb. 20, 1895 .... 348-349 

Rojas, Dr. P. E., letter to Senor Julio Tonti, Feb. 20, 1895 349-350 

Rojas, Dr. F. E., letter to Baron de Bodman, Nov. 14, 1894 356-358 

Rojas, Dr. P. E., letter to Consul E. Pinaud, Nov. 15, 1894 .... 361-364 

Rojas, Dr. P. F., letter to Seneca Haselton, 1894 371 

Resolution, U. S. Congress, Jan. 10, 1895 373-374 

S 

Salisbury Lord, letter to Dr. Rojas, 3880 51-53 

Seijas, Rafael, letter to C. E. Mansfield, Nov. 15, 1883 65-69 

Seijas, Rafael, letter to C. E. Mansfield, 1884 70-71 

Seijas, Rafael, letter to C. E. Mansfield, 1884 71-74 

Seijas, Rafael, letter to C. E. Mansfield, 1884 76-79 

Salisbury, Marquis of, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, July 27, 1885 

with draft of treaty 119-130 

Salisbury, Marquis of, letter to Gen. Guzman Blanco, Oct. 3, 1885. 131-132 

St. John, F. R., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Dec. 9, 1886 171-172 

St. John, F. R., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Jan. 19, 1887 175-177 

St. John, F. R., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Jan. 31, 1887 209-210 

St. John, F. R., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Feb. 15, 1887 213-214 

St. John, F. R., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Feb. 19, 1887 216 

Sanderson, Th., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, .Tan. 18, 1890 227 

Sanderson, Th., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Feb. 10, 1890 227-228 

Sanderson, Th., letter to Dr. Urbaneja, Feb. 19, 1890 231-232 

Sanderson, Th., letter to Dr. Pulido, June 21, 1890 237 

Sandorson, Th., letter to Dr. Pulido, July 24, 1890 241-242 

Sanderson, Th., letter to Dr. Pulido, Oct. 7, 1890 250 

Salisbury, Lord, letter to Sir Julian Pauncefote, Nov. 26, 1895. . . 413-42 
Salisbury, Lord, letter to Sir Julian Pauncefote, Nov. 26, 1895. . . 420-435 

T 

Telegram to Gen. Guzman Blanco, from Dr. Urbaneja, 1887 .... 214-215 
Tonti, Julio, letter to Dr. Rojas, March 16, 1895 350-351 

U 

Urbaneja, Diego B., letter to F. R. St. John, Dec. 7, 1886 169-171 

Urbaneja, Diego B., letter to F. R. St. John, Jan. 8, 1887 173-175 

Urbaneja, Diego B., letter to F. R. St. John, Jan. 26, 1887 201-209 

Urbaneja, Diego B., letter to F. R. St. John, Jan. 31, 1887 210-213 

Urbaneja, Diego B., telegram to Gen. Blanco, Feb. 11, 1887 .... 214-215 

Urbaneja, Diego B., letter to F. R. St. John, Feb. 11, 1887 215 

Urbaneja, Diego B., letter to F. R. St. John, Feb. 19, 1887 216-226 

W 

Wilson, Belford Hinton, letter to Signor Vicente Lecuna 33-37 



440 



Rosebery, Lord, letter to Spnor Mi-u-i 

T» - - 



LB Mr '05 



OFFICIAL HI5T0RY 

OF THE 

Discussion Between Venezuela 
AND Great Britain 

ON THEIR 

GUIANA BOUNDARIES. 



ATLANTA, OA.: 
Franklin Printing & Publishing Company, 
Geo. W. Hakribon, Manager. 
1896. 



I 

I 



